Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to attend NATO leaders’ summit in Washington next week

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Washington, D.C., next week to take part in the NATO leaders' summit. The flag of Sweden, center left, flaps in the wind alongside other alliance member flags after a ceremony to mark the accession of Sweden to NATO at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Monday, March 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Geert Vanden Wijngaert

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Washington, D.C., next week to take part in the NATO leaders’ summit.

The 32 NATO allies are set to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary in the same city where the initial treaty was signed.

The ongoing war in Ukraine is expected to take centre stage again this year.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wants allies to contribute around $58 billion a year to a fund to help the war-torn country defend itself.

Trudeau will also likely face pressure from allies, including the American contingent, over the fact that Canada hasn’t presented a plan to meet its spending targets.

NATO countries have agreed to spend at least two per cent of their annual gross domestic product on defence, but Canada is falling far short of that figure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press