Canadian Defense Minister Discusses Future Direction of Canadian Defense Investments
This week, Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair travelled to Washington to meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blair brought attention to some of the key focusses of Canada’s new defense policy document focused in April: “Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence” and discussed a number of key modernization projects for the Canadian armed forces.
With the new update to its defense policy, Canada has pledged to invest an additional “$8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over 20 years” into Canadian defense. By 2030, this should bring Canadian Defense spending to 1.76% of GDP compared to 1.38% in 2023. These investments will build on the NORAD Modernization Plan announced in 2022 which is investing $38 billion into NORAD’s early-warning and radar detection capabilities. Beyond these measures, Blair and Austin also discussed continuing US-Canada cooperation regarding Ukraine, NATO, the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific. Secretary Austin commented that:
“Canada is a great neighbor, dependable friend and steadfast ally. Our countries have stood together for over a century, protecting our homelands, building a prosperous North America, upholding democracy and defending freedom worldwide. We’re proud to continue working shoulder to shoulder with you.”
While in Washington, Blair also attended a number of defense events such as a meeting with the Defense Writers Group and a conversation with the Atlantic Council. There, the Canadian minister shed some light on Canada’s ongoing considerations for international cooperation in the field of submarine development. Canada’s currently operates an aging fleet of four Victoria-class submarines designed in the 1980s. However, the defense policy update stated Canada will “explore options for renewing and expanding our submarine fleet”.
According to remarks from Blair:
“Real opportunities for greater collaboration with others on this. And so we’re pursuing those discussions as well. I’m pretty confident we will get to a determination of our path forward on underwater surveillance submarine. […] I met last week with the German defense minister, and he brought to me a letter signed by both him and our Norwegian counterpart— they are interested in working collaboratively with Canada on a number of different options across a broad range of defense capabilities, but also included underwater surveillance. Frankly, I’m pleased and we’re hearing from many others as well.”
Now, back in Canada, Blair has also discussed continuing collaboration with Canada’s aerospace industry which have resulted in contracts for 140 aircraft over the past two years, as well as investments into munitions. The April defense policy update has committed $9.5 billion for ammunition production.