Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping defence industrial strategy worth more than C$500 billion, signalling a decisive shift away from long-standing reliance on the United States for security protection.
Carney said Canada had depended too heavily on geography and allies for defence, warning that such vulnerabilities were no longer sustainable in an increasingly unstable world.
The announcement comes amid strained ties with Washington under President Donald Trump. Speaking recently at the World Economic Forum, Carney accused the US administration of disrupting the rules-based global order.
He also criticised remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, contrasting what he described as Canada’s “civic nationalism” with rising ideological nationalism elsewhere.
According to his office, the strategy includes C$180 billion in defence procurement and C$290 billion in public investments over the next decade, aimed at strengthening land, sea and air capabilities while reinforcing Arctic sovereignty.
“The world has changed and Canada must change with it,” Carney said.
