Story highlights Canada pledged to increase defense spending from $18.9 billion in 2016-2017 to $32.7 billion in 2026

President Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO allies for not spending enough on defense

(CNN) Canada has pledged to increase defense spending by over 70% in a move praised by senior US and NATO officials.

Canada's defense minister Harjit Sajjan said the increase followed "years of underinvestment," and would boost annual defense spending from $18.9 billion in Canadian dollars in 2016-2017 to $32.7 billion in 2026.

(That's the equivalent of an increase from $13.99 billion in the US to $24.2 billion.)

In a statement, Canada's chief of the defense staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, said the funding boost "represents a significant investment in our future," and said it would allow the Canadian military to "remain a flexible, responsive, combat-capable force that is prepared to deploy anywhere in the world."

"We must be ready to operate in multiple theaters at any given time," Vance added.

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