Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday unveiled a multi-billion-dollar plan to strengthen Canada’s armed forces and reduce reliance on the United States.
Carney’s announcement of the country’s first defence industrial strategy builds on a theme he has stressed throughout his 11-month tenure, as President Donald Trump disrupts traditional US alliances: Canada has not done enough to defend itself in an increasingly unstable world, and dependence on US protection is no longer sustainable.
“We’ve relied too heavily on our geography and others to protect us,” Carney said.
“This has created vulnerabilities that we can no longer afford and dependencies that we can no longer sustain,” he added.
Carney has emerged as one of the most outspoken global critics of Trump’s administration, notably following remarks at the World Economic Forum last month, where he argued that Trump had triggered a “rupture” in the rules-based international order.
On Tuesday, he also addressed comments made last week by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, underscoring what he described as a widening divergence between US and Canadian values.
Speaking to reporters after outlining the defence strategy, Carney turned to Rubio’s speech unprompted. He warned that Trump’s top diplomat had referred to Washington’s intention to defend “Christian nationalism”.
“Canadian nationalism is civic nationalism,” Carney said, adding that Ottawa’s mandate was to safeguard the rights of all citizens in a vast and diverse country.
“There is a rivalry taking place between Canadian nationalism and other forms of nationalism,” he added, speaking in French.
In Munich, Rubio said that “Western civilisation” was defined by “Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices of our forefathers.”
Carney’s office said the defence industrial strategy represents “over half a trillion dollars (US$366 billion) in Canadian security, economic prosperity and our sovereignty”.
The package includes C$180 billion in defence procurement opportunities and C$290 billion in defence-related public investment over the coming decade.
The plan calls for expanded defence capabilities on land, at sea and in the air, Carney said.
“The world has changed, and Canada must change with it.”
He also reiterated the need to assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, where rising temperatures linked to climate change are melting ice and ushering in a new phase of competition for critical minerals.
