The Canadian government reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation amid rising global security tensions. (Image Source: Reuters)
Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty said that the country has no intentions of making its own nuclear weapons. The news comes after Canada’s ex-top soldier said that the government should reconsider its long-standing no-nukes policy and arm itself one day.
Talking to reporters on the way to the government’s weekly cabinet meeting, McGuinty said that the Canadian Armed Forces will focus on expanding its arsenal of “conventional” weapons.
In French, McGuinty said that “Canada has no intention of pursuing nuclear arms.” He went on to say in English that the country has been a “non-nuclear proliferation state for a long time”, referring to the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
To give you a quick recap, the treaty prohibits countries which don’t have nuclear weapons from acquiring them and commits those that have them to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
“We are going to continue to build conventional weapons, we are going to continue to rearm, we are going to continue to reinvest, we are going to continue to rebuild our Canadian Armed Forces,” McGuinty added.
Canada’s comments come as the country seeks to increase defence spending by more than $59 billion over the next five years. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the country should reduce its reliance on the United States amidst US President Donald Trump’s push to make the country its “51st state.”
During an industry conference in Ottawa, Canada’s former Chief of the Defence Staff, Wayne Erye, had said that the country should consider acquiring its own nuclear weapons in the future.
“I would argue that we will never have true strategic independence, absent our own nuclear deterrent. Here in Canada, let’s keep our options open,” Erye said.
Canada has never been armed with nuclear weapons, except for a brief period during the Cold War when the country housed American nuclear warheads. Erye’s comments a few days after the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight.
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The Canadian government reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation amid rising global security tensions. (Image Source: Reuters) 
