Editorials - May 8, 2026
At what cost?
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this spring that Canada had met its NATO defence spending obligation of two per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP), a target that had been in the works for 11 years.
With unstable international affairs, NATO has accelerated the target to 3.5 per cent of GDP, and Carney has responded that Canada will work to meet the new goal in order to make Canada more self-reliant. The current defence plan is $63 billion, and experts project that Canada will need to spend $159 billion annually by 2035 in order to hit that target in the coming years.
The problem with such an increase is that the funding has to come from somewhere else in the budget. Critics are pointing out that Ottawa will need to find new revenue sources, along with deep spending cuts and more borrowing in order to achieve the lofty goal.
Can Canadians withstand higher taxes and further cuts to services? Which programs may be lost to support our own defence? Whether there is a national appetite for this kind of military spending remains to be seen, once firm plans on how we get there start to come out. There are going to be some tough questions with few answers as we try to keep pace in a new world order. – DS
Change the conversation
While the United States is busy picking a fight with most of the countries of the world as well as a decent number of its own citizens, all at the behest of President Donald Trump, Canada is, slowly but surely, emerging as a stable, reliable international partner to many.
Last week, Canada was selected as the home of a new international defence bank connected with NATO and its allied nations. Whether it’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s background in finance or Trump’s animosity towards NATO, the U.S. in years past would seem like an ideal home for such an institution. In 2026, it goes to Canada.
Meanwhile, in Armenia, Carney pitched himself and Canada as the steady hand in a trigger-happy world as the first-ever non-European head of government to be invited to the European Political Community Summit. Canada is clearly looking to diversify its portfolio, seeking new trade deals with new partners, but Carney is also working to be a leader to those who have lost theirs in Trump’s second term. “It’s my strong personal view that the international order will be rebuilt, but it will be rebuilt out of Europe,” Carney said to those gathered.
All this while Trump strains to buddy up to King Charles and the Royal Family, only to have many of his poor decisions (NATO, the environment, respecting the autonomy of allies) thrown back in his face during the King’s speech to Congress. Meanwhile, it is Canada that is truly a welcome and like-minded ally of Europe.
So says Don Draper in Mad Men, “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” Carney is changing the conversation rather than hanging on every Truth Social post from Trump, fingers crossed Trump’s decided he’s going to be nice to Canada now. – SL
The choice for the time
The appointment of Louise Arbour as Governor General signals a quiet but deliberate shift at Rideau Hall. Arbour arrives with a résumé that carries the gravity of courtrooms and conflict zones, lending the role a firmer sense of purpose. A former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, she has built her career on a clear conviction: power must answer to principle. Fluently bilingual and internationally seasoned, she brings both the symbolism and the substance the role increasingly demands.
The Governor General’s duties are constitutional, yet the office also holds a subtle moral authority. It offers stability, legitimacy and, at times, a quiet expression of national conscience. That influence can seem faint in calmer periods, but it becomes more visible when institutions are tested or public trust waivers. Canada is not without such tests. Questions of identity, reconciliation and confidence in public institutions continue to shape the national conversation. Arbour follows Mary Simon, whose tenure marked a historic milestone while also highlighting enduring sensitivities around language and representation.
Where Simon’s appointment spoke to who Canadians are, Arbour’s speaks to how the country governs itself. Her record reflects a belief that institutions earn respect not through ritual alone, but through rigour, accountability and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.
There is an inherent tension in placing such a figure in a role designed to remain above politics. The Governor General does not legislate, campaign or openly challenge elected authority. The office is meant to steady the ship, not steer it. Yet even a steady hand can alter the course by shaping the conditions in which decisions are made. Tone matters.
Louise Arbour does not re-define the office. She refines it, sharpening its quiet authority at a moment when Canada may need it most. – SBS