At the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 8, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom issued a joint statement recognizing the shared challenge of scaling defence industrial capacity and strengthening resilience. The leaders highlighted the growing interest among allies in multilateral approaches to defence financing and procurement, specifically noting the complementarity between the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) and the Multilateral Defence Mechanism. Both initiatives aim to operate in parallel to support collective defence and security by improving investment and coordination across the supply chain.

Complementarity of Initiatives

The joint statement emphasized that the DSRB and the Multilateral Defence Mechanism have a high degree of complementarity. Together, these efforts are intended to improve defence investment throughout the supply chain. Canada and the UK committed to engaging closely to ensure their respective initiatives develop in a coherent and mutually supportive way. Where possible within agreed mandates, the nations will seek opportunities to cooperate closely and ensure complementarity, encouraging like-minded partners to engage in these discussions.

Defence, Security and Resilience Bank Support

The announcement builds on the support for the Canada-led DSRB, which has received commitments from eight countries: Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The bank aims to mobilize private capital to support collective security and defense industrial capacity by providing long-term, low-cost financing and guarantees. In April 2026, partners agreed to the DSRB's founding Articles of Agreement in Montréal, selecting Canada as the host nation for the future headquarters with the objective of making the bank operational in 2027.

Canadian Defence Investments

Canada has made significant investments to rebuild and rearm its forces, investing over $65 billion in defence and security in the past year. This marks the first time Canada has reached NATO's 2% defence expenditure target since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The country is on a pathway to meet NATO's Defence Investment Pledge of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

Economic Impact and Leadership

Isabelle Hudon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), serves as Canada's lead negotiator for the DSRB. The Canadian defence sector accounted for more than 530 firms directly supporting 37,700 jobs in 2024, with a total of 62,100 jobs across the defence value chain. These companies generated $17.3 billion in revenues and contributed $8.6 billion to GDP in 2024. The government launched the Defence Investment Agency and the Defence Industrial Strategy to position Canadian industry to leverage $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities over the next decade.

Trump has revealed that NATO reached out offering assistance after the Hormuz Strait situation had already been resolved, prompting sharp criticism of the alliance's timing and effectiveness.

NATO's Post-Crisis Offer

Trump disclosed that he received a call from NATO asking if assistance would be needed following the conclusion of the Hormuz Strait situation. His response was direct, telling them to "stay away" unless they simply wanted to "load up their ships with oil."

Sharp Criticism of Alliance

The former president delivered harsh criticism of NATO's response timing, characterizing the alliance as "useless when needed" during the actual crisis. Trump went further, describing NATO as a "paper tiger," suggesting the organization lacks substance when decisive action is required.

Implications for Alliance Relations

Trump's comments highlight ongoing tensions regarding NATO's role and responsiveness in international crises. His criticism focuses specifically on what he perceives as the alliance's failure to provide meaningful support during the active phase of the Hormuz Strait situation, only to offer help after the crisis had passed.