The reasons are clearly political. They're not related to capacity. As the 10th largest economy in the world, we would theoretically be able to make the choices that Denmark, a very small country, is able to make.
It's all about politics. We tend to let our allies take care of Canada's defence, thinking that they will decide for us and that we will follow them. If they invade Afghanistan or Iraq, we'll tag along. If there is a war in Ukraine, we will participate. However, we don't think about our needs. This lack of reflection is the first factor.
Second, there is no sense of priority coming out of the Prime Minister's Office. Since this file is clearly not an important issue for the leader of the government, it's not at the top of the pile. The issue is resolved when there is too much pressure coming from the allies, not as a result of a reflection on what is necessary for Canada to ensure its defence and meet its commitments.
As for Canada's influence on the international scene, the fact that we engage, sign documents and make major statements without there being any follow-up on those actions makes the situation even more problematic. It hurts us enormously, not only in defence matters, but on all other foreign policy issues.
If we tell a future U.S. administration that we still don't have a plan to spend 2% of our GDP on defence, but we are crossing our fingers and hope to have submarines in 2032—which is impossible, given the time it takes here for decision-making and procurement—we won't be credible. In our negotiations to reduce the tariffs that will be imposed by a Republican administration, we will not be able to demonstrate in any way our credibility on this issue.
So we're not just talking about an impact on national defence. I think it's important to understand that our underinvestment has a major impact on our influence and credibility internationally.