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alliance members: That would change if he elected, Trump told the New York Times. "We're talking about countries that are doing very well," he said. "I would absolutely be prepared to tell those countries, 'Congratulations, you will be defending yourself.'" While Trump appeared to be directing his comments at European allies, Canada spends less than one per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, according to Hamilton Spectator. That is half the NATO target and puts Canada near the back of the pack among the alliance 28 members. The Republican nominee caused a stir this week when he said some NATO members aren't spending enough on defence, and are instead relying on the U.S. to protect them. In an interview with The Canadian Press Thursday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan defended Canada military contributions and NATO. He pointed to Canada recent promise to lead a NATO force in Latvia and its role in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as proof the country is pulling its weight. "We're stepping up in a much bigger way," Sajjan said. "When you put everything together, we have nothing to embarrassed about. The only time it was invoked was after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, which led to the war in Afghanistan. In fact, we actually can be very proud of the fact of how much we're doing." Article 5 of the NATO treaty enshrines the concept of collective defence, in which an attack on one member is an attack on all. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.