Canada-Europe defence ties can link ‘club of countries,’ says German envoy
If Canada decides to buy submarines from Germany, it would mean tightening ties with a “club of countries” in Europe as it looks to meet NATO defence spending goals and face an uncertain world, Germany’s ambassador says.
Matthias Lüttenberg, Germany’s ambassador to Canada, sat down with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson in an interview airing on Sunday and emphasized the value of working more closely together.
“It’s up to the Canadian government to decide which direction they want to go,” said Lüttenberg.
“The state of the art submarine that we are offering jointly with Norway, which is built in Germany, is a very good solution for Canadian security, especially when you look at the Arctic.”
European countries are investing billions into their militaries and Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged that Canada will join the ReArm Europe initiative in the recent throne speech.
Germany and Norway have proposed partnering with Canada to procure new submarines — a project that would give Ottawa earlier access to the vessels and help it meet its NATO spending targets, which aim to get all members of the military alliance spending two per cent of their GDP on defence.
Canada has long fallen short of that target, but is under renewed pressure to not only meet, but to exceed that target, as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for more military spending.
Lüttenberg said buying into the submarine project would symbolize a broader partnership.
“It’s not only about the submarine, it’s also about entering this club of countries: Norway, Germany, potentially others in Europe are interested to be part of this maritime partnership because it brings much more benefit than just a submarine; because we can jointly innovate, we can develop, we can talk about maintenance, but really have another project which is ongoing with Canada,” he said.
“I think this is an interesting offer among the NATO allies.”
Lüttenberg was asked about timelines specific to when Germany can reach its renewed defence spending targets. He said they already exceed the NATO two per cent mark and are aiming at upwards of three per cent in the coming years, and alluded to the potential for future acts of aggression by Russia.
“(Germany’s) minister of defence has said he wants to see the German Army be war-ready by 2029. Not because we want to attack anybody, God forbid, but because we feel that we should be ready to counter any sort of Russian aggression against NATO territory by that time,” he said.
With continued escalations in the war in Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal has appeared to lack progress since his inauguration.
Strength in economies, be it in Canada or the European Union, will be important if nations hope to meet budget goals including for defence spending. The trade war sparked by Trump’s tariff policies has been cited as one of the biggest risks to global economies including Canada’s.
Carney is looking to boost Canada’s economy amid the trade war by working towards “One Canadian Economy,” and has now tabled a bill to remove federally regulated interprovincial trade barriers.
Canada has a goal to reach NATO’s target of two per cent of GDP by as early as 2027, with this fiscal year tracking towards 1.37 per cent — compared to 1.31 per cent in fiscal 2024.
Lüttenberg said Germany is planning to increase its defence spending by 0.2 per cent each year to reach 3.5 per cent of its total annual gross domestic product by 2032.
“The two per cent aim to us for a long time seemed to be far away, and now we stand at 2.12 per cent. But we are committing very frankly, to the new target of 3.5 plus 1.5 in terms of additional infrastructure battalions, and expenses,” he said.
“We are supportive of this goal, which is shared by Mark Rutte as well, as NATO secretary general.”
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