By Brian Santarpia, 31 October 2026
Richard Gimblett’s A Canadian Naval Strategy Reader makes an important contribution to the current discussion by placing Canadian naval strategy in its historical context. One of the lessons emerging from that history is the importance of a clear strategic framework at the national level to guide naval strategy. The RCN deserves credit for the work it has undertaken to develop a new strategy, the principles of which were introduced at the Canadian Sea Power Symposium in Calgary two weeks ago. The Government of Canada’s release yesterday of The Plan for a Stronger Canada: National Security for Canadians presents an important opportunity to build on that work. [see https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/services/publications/plan-stronger-canada/national-security-canadians.html]
The new national security strategy articulates Canada’s national interests and establishes a framework of supporting policies, including a forthcoming defence strategy. This creates an opportunity for the RCN to produce a naval strategy that is not simply an expression of naval institutional priorities, but a clear articulation of how naval power will advance Canadian national interests. Realizing that opportunity, however, will require a careful reading of both the national security strategy and the forthcoming defence strategy, and potentially some adjustment to the RCN’s draft before it is formally promulgated.
Some of the implications warrant particular attention. The national security strategy identifies “a cooperative, clear-eyed relationship with the United States” as a Canadian national interest. This is a more nuanced formulation than simply assuming that Canadian and American interests will always align, and it invites careful consideration of how the RCN should balance continental defence, alliance commitments and the preservation of Canadian strategic autonomy. Similarly, the identification of “stability and security internationally” as an interest, rather than explicitly identifying the rules-based international order as such, may have implications for how the RCN articulates its contribution to international security and the purposes for which it deploys naval forces.
The strategy’s emphasis on economic security, sovereignty and strategic autonomy also deserves particular attention. The Government commits to building “a robust domestic industrial base capable of equipping and sustaining the CAF” and to focusing defence procurement on “maximising strategic autonomy and resilience.” These are consequential statements for a navy embarking on a generational recapitalization of its fleet. They suggest that a naval strategy must consider not only the operational capabilities Canada requires, but also the industrial, technological and sustainment capacities necessary to generate and maintain those capabilities over time.
The RCN has an opportunity to establish a strong link between national interests, naval objectives, operational concepts and the capabilities required to deliver them. Doing so will require more than aligning the language of its strategy with that of the Government. It will require ensuring that the strategic choices underpinning the document genuinely reflect the priorities and trade-offs established at the national level. Gimblett’s historical survey provides a valuable starting point. The new national security strategy provides a timely opportunity to translate that historical understanding into a naval strategy firmly grounded in the interests of Canada.
Image: Banner image for The Plan for a Stronger Canada. Credit: Government of Canada
