$9 Billion in defence spending

Canada just committed to spending $9 billion on defense this fiscal year. That's the same country that spent forty years missing NATO targets, storing eggs in uninsulated military housing, and getting quietly lectured by British MPs on delegation visits.

This week on Craft Politics, Joseph Lavoie and Andrew Percy ask whether Canada can actually spend that money without lighting it on fire, what it means that a Liberal prime minister is out-conservativing the Conservatives on defense, and whether rising unemployment numbers are about to end Mark Carney's honeymoon.

We discuss:

Nine billion in one year. Canada's going from missing the 2% NATO target by a decade to hitting it this fiscal year. Joseph grew up in military housing so cold they stored milk under the sink. He's cautiously optimistic. Andrew's worried about procurement.

The recruitment crisis nobody wants to solve. Andrew's rant on why the British left spent years denigrating the military, banning recruiters from campuses, and then acted shocked when nobody signed up. Plus: why strong deterrence beats the alternative.

A UK Canada security compact? Two prime ministers, similar commitments, and a chance to rethink joint procurement. Also: why ammo matters more than submarines right now.

Unemployment at a nine year high. Canadian jobless rate hits 7%, highest since 2016. Joseph thinks it's the canary in the coal mine for Carney's honeymoon. Can you blame Trump for job losses, or does that excuse eventually run out?

Labour's winter fuel U-turn. They took £350 off pensioners, nearly lost a by-election to Reform in Scotland, then reversed course at a cost of £1.25 billion. Andrew asks: did they even need to?

The sensible Conservative pitch. Andrew makes the case for a fiscally prudent, non-populist Tory party. Joseph asks whether sensibility can win in a polarized, post-facts world. The answer: maybe worth a shot when you're polling at 18%.

Trump, the National Guard, and California. Sending 2,000 troops and 700 Marines to LA over immigration protests. Joseph's concerned about the Insurrection Act precedent. Andrew admits his knee started jerking when he saw masked protesters waving foreign flags and throwing rocks at police.

Also discussed: why Jeremy Clarkson's lager tastes like an Italian pilsner, five failed driving tests, getting pulled over for not staying within the white lines, and whether there's any space left in the middle of British or American politics.

00:00 Welcome and Hawkstone Lager — Jeremy Clarkson's farm beer
01:19 Weekend updates — Nashville, Halifax, and too much soccer
02:59 Canada hits 2% NATO defense spending — A massive ramp-up
04:48 The cross-party consensus to underfund the military
07:16 Can you spend 9 billion dollars without lighting it on fire?
09:43 Recruitment crisis and the left's war on the military
13:10 A UK-Canada security compact — Joint procurement opportunity
16:28 Canada's jobless rate hits nine-year high — Honeymoon risk
17:34 Can Carney blame it all on Trump? The recession question
18:54 Poilievre's low profile — Riding out the Carney honeymoon
20:15 UK winter fuel U-turn — Labour panics and reverses cuts
22:45 Reform UK's shock third place in Scotland — Labour's panic mode
24:47 Is there space for fiscal conservatism? The Conservative dilemma
29:29 The exhaustion theory — Will voters tire of extremism?
31:53 Trump orders National Guard and Marines to LA — Federal-state showdown
35:17 The perfect enemy — Foreign flags, rocks, and MAGA imagery
37:58 The Insurrection Act and authoritarian creep — A dangerous precedent
41:25 Beer verdict and wrap — Hawkstone exceeds expectations