Canadians would rather add to Ottawa’s balance sheet than their own tax bill to pay for the country’s largest military buildup since the World War II. A new Nanos Research poll shows 49% of respondents either support or somewhat support financing the defence surge through higher federal borrowing, while 46% oppose that approach.
Backing for debt funding climbs sharply with age. Sixty-one percent of Canadians 55 and over favour the idea, compared with 46% of those aged 35-54 and 36% of the 18-34 cohort.
Raising personal income taxes is even less popular. Three in five respondents reject or somewhat reject that option, including 38% who flat out oppose it. Only 30% of middle-aged adults and 24% of younger adults endorse higher taxes for defence, though support rises to 49% among seniors.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to lift annual defence outlays to as much as $150 billion within ten years—more than double the roughly $63 billion budgeted for this year. Ottawa also promises to push military spending from the NATO benchmark of 2% of GDP to an unprecedented 5%.
“A clear message on how increased military spending will be funded is critical to avoid the pitfalls of Canadians connecting things like higher taxes with higher defence costs,” Pollster Nik Nanos warns.
He added that the accelerated timetable “exacerbates” the risk of a voter backlash if funding plans appear opaque. Both the governing Liberals and the Conservatives, he argued, will be judged on whether they can square defence ambitions with broader fiscal discipline.
The fall budget is expected to outline the hard numbers, signalled to be tabled in Parliament in early October, shortly after MPs return from their summer break.
Nanos polled 1,047 Canadians by telephone and online between July 2 and 6.
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2 Responses
Sad that so many Canadians have a lack of financial education. Borrowing to spend money in Canadian military is not an asset. And definitely not one that appreciates in value ,no choice but to increase taxes . Hopefully GST
I agree. Adding to the debt is not smart. Increase the GST instead, or finally, would somebody have the guts to increase, by even a small fraction…taxes on the the richest in our country.