Category: Economic Security

PM Mark Carney announces Canada has achieved the NATO 2% defence spending target

The 2 percent of GDP defence spending target is a foundation for an even  stronger, more independent, more secure Canada.

Prime Minister Carney announced Thursday, 2026,03.26, more than $3 billion in infrastructure and defence-related investments across Atlantic Canada:

  • In Nova Scotia, targeted investments to modernize critical infrastructure, build new facilities to support the next generation of naval and air fleets, and expand training and operational capacity. Canada is investing:

‘Iran is likely to emerge weaker but more violent, aggressive, and vengeful’

Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, writing in Foreign Policy Magazine:

The Iranian regime is suffering heavy blows as a result of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign, but it is not on the verge of collapse. A prolonged war lasting months would increase the probability that it could fall, but it now appears that the war will end before that, with Iran’s current government in place. This means the Islamic Republic is likely to emerge weaker but more violent, aggressive, and vengeful.

…

Beyond its borders, Iran will be forced to adapt some aspects of its foreign policy while striving to maintain others. It will likely be emboldened by having shown that it can almost completely close the Strait of Hormuz and dramatically impact global energy prices. Having lost several of its power projection assets, it will therefore rapidly invest in rebuilding the capabilities it needs to threaten shipping in the strait again, specifically its missile and drone programs. It will also enthusiastically remind whoever listens that it could renew its campaign in response to future pressure or threats.
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Nordic countries and Canada deepening partnerships in trade, technology, energy, defence, and security

To bolster Canada’s Arctic security, defence, and economic partnerships, Prime Minister Mark Carney, travelled to Bardufoss and Oslo, Norway, this week. In Bardufoss, the Prime Minister observed Exercise Cold Response – a Norwegian-led NATO exercise above the Arctic Circle to enhance the Alliance’s readiness, interoperability, and defence capabilities. Prime Minister Carney was joined by the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz.

Prime Minister Carney also attended the Canada-Nordic Summit, where he met with leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden to reinforce efforts to strengthen transatlantic security in the North.

Joint statement by the Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries and Canada, 2026.03.15, Oslo, Norway:

We – the Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries and Canada – met in Oslo today, 15 March 2026.

At a time characterised by heightened geopolitical tension, war and a multitude of crises, we are united in the view that international cooperation, based on international law, shared values and interests, remains the best way to strengthen our common security and prosperity.

As democracies and countries committed to the rule of law, human rights, and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, we share fundamental values, and strengths.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $35 billion investment for defence and infrastructure in Canada’s North

From Yellowknife, NWT, on Thursday 2026.03.12, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a detailed $35 billion plan to modernize and expand Canada’s military footprint in the country’s Far North and Arctic.

From the Government of Canada’s News Release:

To defend fully Canada’s Arctic and North, deter new threats, and support NATO Allies and NORAD continental defence, Canada’s new government is:

What the US attack on Iran could mean for national security

On 2026.03.05, Bruce Hoffman, senior fellow at US-based Council on Foreign Relations, wrote:

The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly warned of potential lone-wolf attacks and cyberattacks in the wake of the strikes, and state and local authorities have moved to heightened alert for any retaliation on American soil.

…

Sleeper agents, lone actors inspired and motivated by Iran, cyberattacks on US infrastructure, and physical attacks on critical infrastructure are all possible.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly delivers remarks in Toronto

In the days after the unveiling of the Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly addresses the Empire Club of Canada and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly delivers remarks in Toronto – February 19, 2026

Reference:

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/industrial-strategy/security-sovereignty-prosperity.html

Prime Minister Mark Carney launches Canada’s first Defence Industrial Strategy

“The work of defending Canada is the work of building Canada. Security and prosperity are mutually reinforcing foundations of the true North, strong and free. Our new Defence Industrial Strategy ensures Canada remains a sovereign nation, in charge of its own destiny. That’s Canada strong, and that’s what we are building, together.”

Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada

The world is changing rapidly. The international rules-based order is fading, and technological change is expanding the fields of conflict. In response, Canada’s new government is focused on what Canadians can control: rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Canada is on track to hit our 2% NATO spending target this fiscal year and applications to join the CAF are up nearly 13%.

To protect Canada’s sovereignty, build Canadian prosperity, and strengthen Canadian strategic autonomy, the federal government is changing how Canada invests in defence.

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Securing Canada’s participation in the European Union’s SAFE program

The European Union and Canada signed an agreement that will allow Canada to participate in the $240 billion (€150 billion) loans-for-weapons SAFE initiative.

The agreement was signed on Saturday, February 14, 2026 in Germany, at the occasion of the Munich Security Conference, by European Union Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and David McGuinty, Minister of National Defence.

Canada is the first non-EU country to join the European Union’s SAFE initiative.

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German Chancellor Merz opened the Munich Security Conference saying Europe must prepare to stand more firmly on its own

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speech at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, amounted to a strategic repositioning of Germany: still anchored in NATO, but preparing for a future in which American guarantees are less reliable and Europe must carry more responsibility.

“In the era of great powers, our freedom is no longer simply guaranteed. It is under threat,” said Merz.

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The US ambassador to NATO claims the US is not out to dismantle NATO or undermine world order

In response to the Munich Security Report 2026, Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, is defended the US against criticism that the Trump administration’s shift in thinking about its global policies poses a real challenge to the liberal international order.

Source:

The Guardian: US not trying to dismantle NATO or undermine current world order, US ambassador says in response to MSC’s criticism report https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/feb/09/europe-eu-jimmy-lai-ukraine-russia-us-portugal-latest-news-updates

Elsewhere:

Munich Security Report 2026: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/munich-security-report/2026/

MSC Report asserts Europe needs to be more assertive and militarily independent from the US administration https://natsec.ca/2026/munich-security-report-warns-europe-assertive-militarily-independent-from-us/