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The Royal Canadian Navy is on a charm offensive. It’s come after the Liberal government’s plans to increase defence spending by 73 per cent to $62-billion over the next decade.

Before the 2016 federal budget, Canadians were asked for their 15 top picks for where their money should be spent. Health care was first and defence spending was 14th, with only five per cent support.

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Canadians may love the idea of peacekeepers, but are less keen on combat troops. Since the Second World War, Canadians have largely been content to spend the bare minimum on the military despite the well-documented evidence that more is needed to keep the Canadian navy afloat and its aging planes in the air.

For most Canadians — women in particular — the military isn’t a priority.

So, even against the backdrop of rising tensions among Canada, its NATO allies and U.S. President Donald Trump’s lukewarm commitment to the alliance, rising concerns over North Korea’s increasingly frequent missile tests, conflicts in the Middle East and terrorism threats, the massive, proposed spending increase is a risk for the Liberals.