By Moderator, 6 March 2026
There’s an interesting article by CNR Editorial Board member Kate E. Todd. It’s called: “Maritime Security in 2026: From Competition to Contestation,” published by the CDA Institute as part of its Strategic Outlook.
As Todd says, “To operate in contested maritime environments like [we are seeing currently], Canada must have a credible and combat-ready naval force capable of defending its territory and interests at home and abroad. However, Canada’s current naval posture is ill-equipped to meet this moment. Without accelerated recapitalization of its navy, Canada risks losing access, influence, and autonomy in contested waters.”
She concludes: “In 2026, contestation, rather than competition, defines the maritime domain. From high-intensity coercion in global choke points to legal and political pressures in the Arctic, states and nonstate actors are testing boundaries, shaping behaviour, and challenging sovereignty in persistent, uneven, and multidimensional ways. Confronting maritime contestation requires more than symbolic operations, like in the Taiwan Strait. It demands a credible and combat ready Navy capable of sustaining operations across regions where Canada’s interests and sovereignty are at risk. Without accelerated and continued investment in the Royal Canadian Navy, Canada will face growing constraints on where it can deploy, what it can defend, and how much pressure it can withstand in contested maritime spaces.”
You can read the article at https://cdainstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CDA-Strategic-Outlook_Final_Mar3_2026.pdf
