U.S. ‘unable to step up’ on Ukraine aid, leaving Canada to fill the gap, says Freeland

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada's commitment to Ukraine has been an important contribution to NATO's strength at a time when the United States has been "unable to step up" on aid to the embattled country.

Freeland was responding to a question about Canada's efforts to meet NATO's military spending target for member nations — two per cent of GDP — in an interview airing Saturday on CBC's The House.

Asked whether Canada would increase spending in the forthcoming April 16 federal budget, Freeland declined to give an answer either way. She told host Catherine Cullen that Canada's per capita commitments to Ukraine — which she called "NATO's most pressing challenge" — had been very significant.

"In March, Canada sent $2 billion in urgent budget financing support to Ukraine at a time when the U.S. — and this is maybe something you could ask the U.S. ambassador about — at a time when the U.S. has been unable to step up and provide support for Ukraine. We were there to fill the gap," Freeland said, after being told U.S. Ambassador David Cohen would also appear on the program.

"Canadians can stand up tall and proud, knowing that our country is absolutely doing our part to resist Russia [and] support Ukraine, which is NATO's biggest fight," she said.

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Canada has faced increasing pressure — from both domestic voices and some allied countries — to meet the two per cent target set by NATO countries at the alliance's Wales meeting in 2014.

"We won't get kicked out of NATO, but when you make a point at the North Atlantic Council table, your voice carries less weight because you need to put your money where your mouth is," Kerry Buck, Canada's former ambassador to NATO, told CBC News earlier this week.

U.S. bill still in limbo

Freeland said "shenanigans in Congress" have left the U.S. unable to provide much-needed support to Ukraine as it fights to defend itself from Russian forces.

"That is a problem. Canada's support for Ukraine is not Ukraine's problem," she said.

The U.S. has struggled to pass legislation that would authorize billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine and other allies. Republicans have demanded concessions on border measures in exchange for the foreign aid.

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Cohen defended the U.S. contribution to Ukraine when asked about Freeland's comments.

"'I've no desire to debate Chrystia Freeland when she isn't even here," he said in a separate interview airing Saturday on The House.

"The United States has devoted to Ukraine US$77 billion, including $44 billion in military assistance … I'll stand on that record every day and be very proud of it."

Discussing Canada's military spending more broadly, Cohen acknowledged Canada's actions on modernizing NORAD and supporting Ukraine, and its commitment to renew its fighter fleet. He said the 2 per cent target is still important as a spending floor but the U.S. considers other factors as well.

"I've been very careful to talk about my advocacy in terms of the need for Canada to invest properly in defence, in defence preparedness, to be able to continue to increase spending. And I've been equally clear that I don't think it's fair to assess Canada's performance or commitment to defence by reference to any single metric," he said.

"Democracy can be a little ugly at times, and it can be a little cumbersome. In the end, democracy works, and I have no doubt that the United States Congress will step up and that there will be an ongoing flow of continued significant support to Ukraine from the United States."

In previous statements, Cohen has balanced praise for Canada's other military commitments with some pressure on the NATO target. He has said "the world is watching" what Canada is doing and that he "remains hopeful" the target will be met.

"I don't think Canada has any interest in being that kind of an outlier in NATO," he told CBC News in February.