Well that's the thing I point out at the end of the article. Carney doesn't have to say he follows MMT. In fact, I suggest it would be best not to mention it if he does. But if he does believe, then he's not going to be anywhere as concerned about the cost as he would otherwise. (And, as I point out, him having been in charge of two monetary systems uniquely prepares him to accept the basic premises of MMT.)

I'm not sure about the defense spending being the largest 'by a large margin'. There are details that need considering. A large fraction of getting to 2% of GDP was by making the Coast Guard part of the military--like it is almost everywhere else in the world. Also, a significant fraction of the defense spending can involve things like building a road, airport, and deep water port in Nunavut. The benefit would not primarily be for the military, but they are certainly something that increases the defense capabilities. Also, investing in building airplanes in Canada--like with both the Gripen Fighter and the Swedish AWACS plane--helps the entire economy. There's also the dramatic expansion of the reserves that's being proposed. What I've heard being proposed is more like a citizen-based emergency preparedness structure. Of course it would be useful in a war, but it would also have been really useful during COVID and fire and flood seasons. From what I've read, a lot of the proposed investment is going towards a very wide definition of 'national defense'.

So yes, the submarines are eye-wateringly expensive. But Canada does have the world's longest coastline. And we simply cannot trust the USA anymore. And if we want to have allies we can depend on (ie: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, etc), we have to be willing to 'do our bit'. But I'm not a pacifist. And I don't see all soldiers as being 'baby killers'.