Prime minister commits more than $3B for defence projects in the Maritimes

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced $3 billion in new infrastructure and defence spending for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The prime minister made the announcement Thursday during a news conference aboard a navy warship in Halifax harbour after confirming Canada is now spending roughly two per cent of its GDP on national defence — a key NATO alliance commitment.

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Carney said his government had already committed $63 billion to reach that target and he repeated a pledge made in June to increase that investment to five per cent of annual GDP by 2035.

To get there, Carney announced Nova Scotia will receive more than $2 billion to modernize infrastructure, expand training and  build facilities for new warships and aircraft.

In New Brunswick, more than $1 billion will be spent improving the massive army base known as the Gagetown Range and Training Area.

Carney said that over the next decade, Canada will spend half-a-trillion dollars on defence, which includes money for new submarines, aircraft, drones, sensors and radar systems.