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Canadian Naval Review

The New Liberal Government and Priority Defence Issues

By Jeff G. Gilmour, 15 May 2025

A photo of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Carney in May 2025. Credit: Prime Minister of Canada X account

Now that the Mark Carney Liberals have been elected, it will be interesting to see how they will address Canada’s military after decades of decline. This lack of political priority by Ottawa has hurt its operational readiness, the Canadian Armed Forces’ capacity to recruit and train soldiers, sailors and aviators, and its investment in equipment and infrastructure.

A) NATO

In their election platform, the Liberals stated that they intend to reach the 2% of GDP for defence in another four fiscal years, perhaps by 2030, even though Canada stated it would meet this target in 2014.[2] NATO officials are now saying that they can no longer rely on the United States; that member states will likely have to increase their defence spending up to 3.5%. Trump now seems to be pushing this figure to 5%. Based on the Liberal timelines, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) determined the government will have to spend $30.9B over the next four years ending in 2025-29, which will still leave Canada $10B short.

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Preview: Canadian Naval Review Vol. 21 No. 1

I know the weather is getting better, but we’ll still have rainy days and cool weather. Isn’t it great that soon you’ll have the spring issue to read on a rainy day! I know we say this every time, but this issue is amazing. Prepare to be delighted!

       In the upcoming issue, the Editorial by John Orr uses the example of the navy’s fight for naval air to illustrate the idea that the navy needs to win the battle in Ottawa not the battle of operational necessity. In our first article, “The Royal Canadian Navy and Corvettes,” the authors discuss the history the RCN has with corvettes, try to define exactly what corvettes are, and examine the utility that they could provide in the future.

Our second article, “International Alternatives for the Canadian Multi-Mission Corvette Program,” fits very nicely with the first article. It outlines what Canada’s European allies are building and how they are incorporating corvettes in their navies. In the final long piece, we have an interview with Richard Mills of Cellula Robotics. In this very interesting interview, we find out about uncrewed underwater vehicles and their development and utility – and the future of them.

We can’t possibly mention everything in this preview – we can just mention a few other pieces. We have Making Waves commentaries about the Sea Cadets, about using simulations and technology for training, suggestions about RCN fleet composition, and a brief discussion of the Chinese navy. We also have a piece entitled “Nine Things for a Canadian Sailor to Know Before Deploying to the Indo-Pacific.” And, in case you’re wondering, no CNR issue would be complete in this strange new world without a discussion of the changed relationship between Canada and the United States.    

       Naturally there are book reviews and stunning photos to illustrate everything! You will not be able to put this issue down once you start reading! See the Table of Contents here.

CNR resources

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Looking for Books about Maritime Matters?

Over the last 20 years, Canadian Naval Review has published over 180 book reviews. These books cover a variety of topics but they all relate to maritime matters, history, or security and defence at sea. This is an amazing resource. Go through the list of reviews, pick out a few books that look interesting, read the reviews, and then order the books from your nearest bookstore or from the publisher. See the list of book reviews at https://www.navalreview.ca/book-reviews/