A New Canadian Defence Plan: Coming Soon?
By Jeff G. Gilmour, 30 October 2026
The Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Defence Challenges document, managed by DND, outlined five core policy challenges in 2019, in response to the 2017 defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE). These policy challenges were:
- Canada Strong - focussing on the Arctic and continental defence, sovereignty, critical infrastructure protection, NORAD;
- Supporting Our People - CAF recruitment, retention, quality of life, personnel management;
- Strengthening the Industrial Base - delivering a cohesive Defence Industrial Strategy, enhancing sovereign procurement capabilities, maintaining supply chain resilience and supporting indigenous reconciliation;
- Navigating Strategic Competition - defending the rules-based international order, countering below-threshold conflicts and solidifying Indo-Pacific and European partnerships;
- Accelerating Technologies - integrating cyber, space, autonomous systems, AI and quantum technology.
In 2024, two important documents were released by Ottawa:
- The defence policy Our North, Strong and Free, and the
- Arctic Foreign Policy.
The Defence Policy of 2024 faced significant criticism from defence experts centred on a lack of urgency, unrealistic execution timelines and a failure to address a deep personnel crisis. Two key themes were the failure to meet the 2% of GDP benchmark and missing capital acquisition expectations. Military experts slammed the policy for operating on ‘peacetime processes and mentalities’ despite a deteriorating global security environment. Commentators describe the update as ‘all flash, no bang,’ arguing it was merely a restatement of traditional approaches rather than an urgent pivot toward war-fighting readiness.
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Preview CNR Next Issue: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2026)
Alas, summer is over. But it’s not just snow and sleet and ice coming in the future – the fall issue of CNR is coming too! A new issue will be out soon. Here is a preview of what’s in the issue.
In his Editorial “The Art of Naval Thought,” Brian Santarpia notes that “the RCN dedicates relatively little effort to professional education in the foundations of strategic thought,” and that this is unfortunate. To start off the line-up of interesting articles, we have the winning essay of the 2026 CNMT essay competition. The author, C.A.M. Al Wahi, won with an impressive essay entitled “Vulnerable Arteries: Protecting Critical Subsea Infrastructure and the RCN’s Mandate.” Our second article, “A Submarine-First Royal Canadian Navy?” argues that, as Canada’s main strategic asset, submarines should receive more focus in the RCN. Our third article, “Slow Procurement is Canada’s Greater Risk,” outlines problems and solutions in the military procurement process from the perspective of a Canadian company. The next article, “Of Hulls and Sailors: Why Fleet Recapitalization Depends on Personnel Generation,” focuses on the importance of ensuring there are enough trained personnel as a crucial element of naval capability. The final article discusses HMCS Sackville and the ship’s recommissioning ceremony in the spring.
We have a good selection of Making Waves commentaries. There is material about the future US Arctic Security Cutters, discussion of the importance of trained personnel, underwater surveillance in the Arctic, and suggestions about the design of Canadian amphibious forces.
And, of course, we have our regular columns. In “Allies of Necessity: Japan and South Korea,” “A View from the West” looks at the uneasy relationship between two key players in the Indo-Pacific region. “Dollars and Sense” examines the shift from austerity to abundance in defence, and “Warship Developments” updates us on Tomahawks and aircraft carriers.
No issue of CNR would be complete without the amazing photos! And there are many of them!
Stay tuned. In a few weeks, the issue will be available to people who are lucky enough to be subscribers! It’s not too late for you to subscribe. See here for the Table of Contents.
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Looking for Books about Maritime Matters?
Over the last 20 years, Canadian Naval Review has published over 200 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/