With the release of its much-awaited platform for the ongoing federal election, the Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper has reaffirmed its commitment to the Canada First Defence Strategy that it released earlier this year. Given the incumbent nature of the Conservatives, the reaffirmation unsurprisingly comprises the bulk of the party’s national defence agenda in [...]

The Liberal Party of Canada has become the first political party to release its comprehensive policy platform in the ongoing federal election. The policy dedicates two sections to two of the prominent issues facing Canada’s military planners: the general way forward for national defence, and the question of Arctic sovereignty. Yet, despite naming specifically these [...]

Canada’s aging PROTECTEUR class replenishment vessels may yet be in service longer than expected, according to the Ottawa Citizen, which is reporting that there is a funding shortfall for the vessels’ replacement, the Joint Support Ship. The new vessels form an integral part of the Government’s Canada First Defence Strategy. Dating back to 2004, under [...]

May 2006 The 2006 federal budget on May 2, 2006, promised the Canadian Forces a cash infusion of $5.3 billion over the next five years. It is notable that this promise by the Conservative government is largely empty, as the government included only $1.126 billion in guaranteed funding over this fiscal year and next. The [...]

January 2007 – Op-Ed by Scott Noseworthy The past year – 2006 – saw a revitalization of the Canadian Forces just months after the Conservative Party of Canada took office as the “New” Government of Canada. In the January election, the Conservatives promised an extensive military policy focusing on “Canada First”. This “Canada First” policy [...]