NATO’s Militarization Push: A Neo-Colonial Gambit Masked as Defense

Introduction: The Hague Summit and Its Implications

The June 2025 NATO summit in The Hague marked a significant escalation in the alliance’s defense spending targets, with member states committing to allocate 5 percent of their GDP toward military expenditures. This decision, split into 3.5 percent for core defense and 1.5 percent for related costs, represents a dramatic increase from previous benchmarks. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been vocal in endorsing this agenda, pledging that Canada will meet the 5 percent target by 2035. To kickstart this effort, his government is injecting an additional C$8.7 billion ($6.58 billion) into defense spending in the current fiscal year, aiming to achieve NATO’s earlier 2 percent goal for the first time. This commitment comes after Canada’s failure in 2023 to meet both the 2 percent spending target and the 20 percent allocation for research, development, and equipment. The article underscores Canada’s historical underinvestment in its defense industrial base, highlighting the challenges of scaling up production and procurement to meet these new demands. Workshops organized by the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative have identified key areas for improvement, including streamlining procurement processes, fostering niche capabilities, and strengthening ties with European allies. The narrative revolves around Canada’s strategic positioning within NATO, emphasizing its role in modernizing military capabilities across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic domains.

Context: Canada’s Defense Industrial Base at a Crossroads

Canada’s defense industry faces a critical juncture, grappling with decades of neglect and an overreliance on the United States. Prime Minister Carney has noted that approximately 75 cents of every dollar spent on defense capital flows to U.S. firms, underscoring a dependency that stifles domestic innovation. The shopping list for military equipment is extensive—new warships, submarines, fighter aircraft, and surveillance systems—all deemed essential for national defense and modernization. This push aligns with Canada’s renewed leadership in NATO forces in Latvia and its efforts to secure its three-ocean borders. The creation of the Defence Investment Agency (DIA) in October 2025 aims to accelerate procurement, but challenges persist, including personnel shortages and a glacial acquisition process. Recommendations from experts stress the need for consistent funding, specialized focus on Arctic technologies, and deeper collaboration with Europe, as seen in the EU-Canada defense pact signed in June 2025. The article paints a picture of a nation scrambling to align with Western militarization trends, yet hampered by structural inefficiencies and historical underspending, quantified at C$18.3 billion between 2017 and 2023.

Opinion: The Hypocrisy of Western Militarization

This aggressive push for increased defense spending is not merely a strategic adjustment; it is a blatant reinforcement of Western imperialism, designed to perpetuate global hegemony at the expense of the Global South. NATO’s 5 percent GDP target is a grotesque misallocation of resources that could otherwise address poverty, climate change, and inequality. While countries like India and China focus on holistic development, the West obsesses over militarization, fueling an arms race that destabilizes the world. The narrative of “security” is a smokescreen for neo-colonial ambitions, as seen in Canada’s alignment with U.S. interests and its participation in alliances like NORAD. This isn’t about defense; it’s about dominance.

The Human Cost of Militarization

Every dollar funneled into weapons systems is a dollar stolen from human welfare. Canada’s pledge of C$8.7 billion could transform healthcare, education, or green energy initiatives, but instead, it will line the pockets of defense contractors. The West’s fixation on military might reveals a profound moral bankruptcy, where “security” is defined by the ability to inflict violence rather than to nurture life. This approach echoes the colonial era’s brutality, where resource extraction and oppression were justified under the guise of civilization. Today, the same logic applies, with NATO serving as a vehicle for Western exceptionalism.

The Global South’s Alternative Vision

Civilizational states like India and China understand that true security stems from economic resilience and cultural vitality, not military posturing. Their rise challenges the Westphalian model of nation-states, which NATO embodies—a system built on exclusion and hierarchy. The West’s one-sided application of international law, where it arm-twists allies into spending more on defense while ignoring its own violations, is hypocritical. Canada’s participation in this charade undermines its potential as a independent global actor, reducing it to a satellite of U.S. imperialism.

Conclusion: A Call for Resistance

The Hague summit’s decisions are a declaration of war on multilateralism and justice. As the Global South ascends, the West’s desperation to maintain control through militarization will only intensify. But history is not on their side. The future belongs to those who prioritize people over profit, and cooperation over coercion. Canada must reject this path and champion a vision of security rooted in equity, not empire.