Canada, like Europe, seeks to break U.S. defense dependency
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios
Canada's first-ever defense-industrial strategy, published this month, suggests it, like Europe, can no longer count on the U.S. to be a security backstop, economically or militarily.
- "Long-held assumptions have been upended — about the end of imperial conquest, the durability of peace in Europe, and the resilience of old alliances," the plan reads.
- "In this uncertain world, it is more important than ever that Canada possess the capacity to sustain its own defense and safeguard its own sovereignty."
Why it matters: It's a major break for Canada, which has not taken President Trump's 51st state remarks lightly.
- Canadians today view the U.S. as more of a risk than a partner, according to a Globe and Mail poll conducted by Nanos Research. (Only 9% agreed that the "U.S. is a trustworthy ally of Canada.")
Driving the news: Prime Minister Mark Carney in a press conference promised to "double our defense expenditures by the end of this decade," prioritize business with Canadian defense contractors and pour resources into the Arctic.
- "The truth is, over the last few decades, Canada has neither spent enough on our defense nor invested enough in our defense industries," he said.
- "We have relied too heavily on our geography and others to protect us."
By the numbers: The strategy pledges to increase the share of defense acquisitions awarded to Canadian firms to 70%, boost defense exports by 50% and create 125,000 new jobs across the country's economy.
- That will take years.
- Small and mid-size businesses make up the vast majority of Canada's defense industry.
What they're saying: The blueprint and posturing around it send "a message to the defense primes, that they are not going to rely on American firms anymore," Jana Nelson, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for western hemisphere affairs, told Axios.
- While "they're not arming against the United States," she said, they are "arming toward their own defense."
- "It's not an aggressive move — but it is a smart de-risking move."
Zoom out: This increased Canadian autonomy was foreshadowed by two recent events:
- A breakout decision to move ahead with Australia on an over-the-horizon radar project worth billions of dollars;
- And heated debate over American F-35 and Swedish Gripen acquisitions.
Reality check: Canadian security will remain inextricably linked to the U.S. into the future.
- Trump's Golden Dome ambitions stretch well beyond America's borders.
- North American Aerospace Defense Command is a shared endeavor.
- And Canada is a member of NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence partnership.
The bottom line: "Canada is finally aligning with Europe on a hard truth: sovereignty isn't declared, it's manufactured," Eliot Pence, the CEO of Dominion Dynamics, told Axios.
- The Canadian company announced a $15 million seed round in January.
Go deeper: Trump's Greenland gambit thrusts Arctic security into mainstream politics
