Ottawa - The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that the federal government will need to spend an additional $75.3 billion on defense over the next five years for Canada to reach NATO's target of 2 percent of GDP.

Yves Giroux issued independent projections today for the military spending required for Canada to achieve the target, which NATO members agreed upon in 2006.

Based on government figures, Giroux expects that Canada's total military spending will rise from $36.3 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year to nearly $51 billion in 2026-27.

In the same context, Canada has faced increasing calls to raise its defense spending to meet NATO's target in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At the same time, the Liberal government spent an estimated 1.36 percent of Canada's GDP on the military last year, while four other NATO members spent less, and these countries are: Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain.

Giroux said in a statement that the 2% of GDP target is still out of reach in the medium term, but the gap between Canadian spending and the set standard is expected to narrow over the next five years.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair