Abstract
Does Canada have a defence strategy? Taking an outsider’s perspective, this chapter argues that successive Canadian governments have kept defence strategy ambiguous on the basis of two commonplace assumptions: that domestic politics impose major constraints on the federal government in this area and that Canadians lack global agency by default. Objectively speaking, however, Canada’s ability to make strategic choices is not nearly as limited as typically depicted in policy discourse.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brewster, Murray. 2018. Military Is off the Radar of Most Canadians: DND Poll. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dnd-canadians-military-poll-1.4754083. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Canadian Defence Associations Institute. 2014. 2014 Strategic Outlook for Canada. https://cdainstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/images_so2014fr.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Canadian Global Affairs Institute. 2017. Canada’s Defence Policy: What Does It Mean? The Global Exchange (Podcast). Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/user-609485369/canadas-defence-policy-review-what-does-it-mean. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Canadian Global Affairs Institute. 2018. Canada’s Outgoing Defence Attaché: U.S. and Canada Still Have Each Other’s Back. https://www.cgai.ca/canadas_outgoing_defence_attache_us_and_canada_still_have_each_others_back. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Charron, Andrea, and James Fergusson. 2018. From NORAD to NOR[A]D: The Future Evolution of North American Defence Co-operation. Canadian Global Affairs Institute. https://www.cgai.ca/from_norad_to_nor_a_d_the_future_evolution_of_north_american_defence_co_operation. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Collins, Jeffrey F. 2018. Should Canada Participate in Ballistic Missile Defence? A Survey of the Experts. Macdonald Laurier Institute. https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLI_BMD_FinalWeb.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Dangerfield, Katie. 2017. Canada’s Dwindling Peacekeeping Role in the World: What Happened? Global News, November 14. https://globalnews.ca/news/3859388/canada-peacekeeping-role-un/. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Department of Defense. 2018. Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America. https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Department of National Defence. 2017. Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada’s New Defence Policy. http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.835971/publication.html. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Department of National Defence. n.d. 5th Annual Defence Procurement Conference, 26 October 2017. https://www.cgai.ca/creating_a_big_bang_implementing_the_procurement_ambition_in_strong_secure_engaged. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Freedman, Lawrence. 2017. The Meaning of Strategy, Part I: The Origins. Texas National Security Review. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/63933. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Friedman, Uri. 2017. Canada Is Now Openly Questioning the Future of U.S. Leadership. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/canada-trumpleadership/529353/. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Gorur, Aditi. 2016. Defining the Boundaries of UN Stabilization Missions. Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/Defining-Boundaries-UNStabilization-Missions.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Government of Canada. 2005. A Role of Pride and Influence in the World—Defence: Canada’s International Policy Statement, 30–31. http://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.687487&sl=0. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Government of Canada. 2017a. Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2017/06/canada_s_feministinternationalpolicy.html. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Government of Canada. 2017b. Address by Minister Freeland on Canada’s Foreign Policy Priorities. https://www.canada.ca/en/globalaffairs/news/2017/06/address_by_ministerfreelandoncanadasforeignpolicypriorities.html. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Hamilton, Graeme. 2017. How Prepared Is Canada for a Nuclear Attack? ‘We Get on Our Knees and Pray’. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/how-prepared-is-canada-for-a-nuclear-attack-we-get-on-our-knees-and-pray. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Keddie, Ian J. 2018. On Peacekeeping, Canada Is Failing the Global Community-Opinion: Canada’s Levels of Global Military Contribution Are at Their Lowest Point Since 1956—And Conditions Suggest That May Not Change Soon. MacLeans. https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/on-peacekeeping-canada-is-failing-the-global-community/. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Leung, Christy. 2018. Canadian Navy Frigate HMCS Vancouver Begins Six-Day Port Call in Hong Kong. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2144523/canadian-navy-frigate-hmcs-vancouver-begins-six-day-port. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Leuprecht, Christian, and Joel J. Sokolsky. 2015. Defense Policy “Walmart Style” Canadian Lessons in “Not-So-Grand” Grand Strategy. Armed Forces & Society 41 (3): 541–562. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Logan, Justin. 2010. The Domestic Bases of America’s Grand Strategy. World Politics Review. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/5319/the-domestic-bases-of-americas-grand-strategy. Accessed 29 October 2018.
McNamara, Don. 2016. National Security and Government Responsibility: Towards a Comprehensive National Security Strategy. CDA Institute. https://cdainstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/Analysis/Macnamara_Analysis_May_2016.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Meiser, Jeffrey W. 2016–2017. Ends + Ways + Means = (Bad) Strategy. Parameters 46 (4): 81–92.
NATO. 4 April 1949. Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
NORAD. North American Aerospace Defence Command, Canadian NORAD Region. http://www.norad.mil/About-NORAD/Canadian-NORAD-Region/. Accessed 22 August 2018.
Østhagen, Andreas, Gregory Levi Sharp, and Paal Sigurd Hilde. 2018. At Opposite Poles: Canada’s and Norway’s Approaches to Security in the Arctic. The Polar Journal 8 (1): 163–181.
Perry, David. 2018. Following the Funding in Strong, Secure, Engaged. Canadian Global Affairs Institute Policy Update.
Press, Jordan. 2011. Canada Among Most Peaceful Nations in the World: Report. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-among-most-peaceful-nations-in-the-world-report. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Roberts, Alasdair. 2018. Grand Strategy Isn’t Grand Enough. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/20/grand-strategy-isnt-grand-enough/.
Scotti, Monique. 2017. Few New Details on Canada’s Fresh Approach to Peacekeeping. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/3861820/few-new-details-on-canadas-fresh-approach-to-peacekeeping/. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Sevunts, Levon. 2018. NATO Wants to Keep the Arctic an Area of Low Tensions, Stoltenberg. Radio Canada International. http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2018/04/04/nato-wants-to-keep-the-arctic-an-area-of-low-tensions-stoltenberg/.
Silove, Nina. 2018. Beyond the Buzzword: The Three Meanings of “Grand Strategy”. Security Studies 27 (1): 27–57.
Sokolsky, Joel. 2017. Canada’s Defence Policy Review—The Asterisk Dear Boy, the Asterisk. Inside Policy. https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/canadas-defence-policy-review-the-asterisk-dear-boy-the-asterisk-joel-sokolsky-for-inside-policy/. Accessed 29 October 2018.
Sokolsky, Joel, and Joseph Jockel. 2016. A Defence Review? Not Really Necessary: But If Canada Necessarily Must, Here Are Some Things to Keep in Mind and to Avoid. CDA Institute, April.
Solingen, Etel. 1998. Regional Orders at Century’s Dawn: Global and Domestic Influences on Grand Strategy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. 2014. Canada and Ballistic Missile Defence: Responding to the Evolving Threat, June.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rodman, L. (2020). You’ve Got It All Backwards: Canada’s National Defence Strategy. In: Juneau, T., Lagassé, P., Vucetic, S. (eds) Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26402-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26403-1
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)