Pierre Poilievre says NATO allies treated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau like a human piñata at the leaders’ summit this week — but he still won’t commit to the alliance’s spending goal.

The Conservative leader says Canada has lost its place on the international stage under the Liberal government, and Trudeau lectures the world without doing his part.

The prime minister announced Thursday that he expects to hit NATO’s defence spending target in 2032 after facing days of pressure at the three-day meeting in Washington, D.C.

He did not share details about how Canada will get there.

Poilievre says the prime minister was just trying to save face among NATO allies who have agreed to spend at least the equivalent of two per cent of national gross domestic product on defence.

He says he isn’t committing to meet that target because he doesn’t make promises he can’t keep.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.