Abstract
Establishing a political consensus on Canadian defence policy objectives is in the national interest. Since defence policies look ahead based on ten-, fifteen- or even twenty-year planning horizons, political consensus is highly desirable to avoid damaging stops and starts in defence initiatives and to build programme consistency. Historically, the establishment of a consensus on a core defence objectives has been challenging in the face of changing domestic priorities. But this may be changing given a consensus on key elements of the defence programme initiated under the Harper Government and which has been continued under the Trudeau Government. The paper outlines both some pitfalls that could disrupt the continuation of the defence policy consensus, as well as measures that can assist in sustaining that consensus. Should the consensus be sustained it can help to ensure that Canada’s defence policy is effective in serving the national interest.
Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views of any other individual or organization.
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
Auditor General of Canada. 2018. Report 3: Canada’s Fighter Force—National Defence. http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201811_03_e_43201.html.
Berthiaume, Lee. 2018. DND Hopes to Keep New Navy Support Ship Project on Track. Canadian Press, 6 March. https://www.design-engineering.com/seaspan-10040294351004029435/.
Brewster, Murray. 2018. Lockheed Martin Selected as Preferred Designer for Canada’s Next Generation of Warships. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigate-designer-canada-defence-1.4869268.
Cision News Wire. 2017. Open Letter to the Prime Minister from Former Air Force Commanders. http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/open-letter-to-the-primeminister-from-formerair-force-commanders-614624294.html.
Cudmore, James. 2015. Canada’s Navy to Get 5 or 6 Arctic Ships, Not 8. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-s-navy-to-get-5-or-6-arctic-ships-not-8-1.2913159.
Department of National Defence (2017). Canada in a New Maritime World: Leadmark 2050. http://navymarine.forces.gc.ca/assets/NAVY_Internet/docs/en/rcn_leadmark-2050.pdf.
Gordon, Lisa. 2018. Cyclone Achieves IOC. Vertical Magazine. https://www.verticalmag.com/news/the-year-of-the-cyclone/.
Government of Canada, Department of Finance. 1996. Budget Plan 1996.
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence. 2008. Canada First Defence Strategy. http://www.forces.gc.ca/assets/FORCES_Internet/docs/en/about/CFDS-SDCDeng.pdf.
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence. 2014. Defence Procurement Strategy. https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/amd-dp/samd-dps/indexeng.html.
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence. 2017. Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada’s Defence Policy. http://dgpaapp.forces.gc.ca/en/canada-defencepolicy/docs/canada-defence-policyreport.pdf.
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence. 2018. Defence Investment Plan 2018. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/reports/2018/defence-investment-plan-eng.pdf.
Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada. 2017. Address by Minister Freeland on Canada’s Foreign Policy Priorities. https://www.canada.ca/en/globalaffairs/news/2017/06/address_by_ministerfreelandoncanadasforeignpolicypriorities.html.
Government of Canada, House of Commons. 2018. Government Response to the 10th Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence, Entitled Canada and NATO: An Alliance Forged in Strength and Reliability. https://www.ourcommons.ca/content/Committee/421/NDDN/GovResponse/RP10083758/421_NDDN_Rpt10_GR/421_NDDN_Rpt10_GR-e.pdf.
Government of Canada, Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan. 2008. Independent Panel on the Future of Canada’s Role in Afghanistan. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2008/dfait-maeci/FR5-20-1-2008E.pdf.
Government of Canada, Senate of Canada. 2017. Reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces: A Plan for the Future. https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/421/SECD/reports/SECDDPRReport_FINA_e.pdf.
Gunn, Andrea. 2018. Sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship About Readiness, Not Fairness Experts Say. The Chronicle Herald, 6 November. https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/local/nurse-practitioner-plans-worry-doctors-257179/.
Liberal Party of Canada. 2015. Liberal Election Platform. https://www.liberal.ca/realchange/f35/.
Mack, Ian. 2018. A Basic Primer on Naval Shipbuilding. Canadian Global Affairs Institute. http://navymarine.forces.gc.ca/assets/NAVY_Internet/docs/en/rcn_leadmark2050.pdf.
Manson, Paul. 2016. When It Comes to Procuring New Fighter Jets There’s Only One Way Forward. National Post, 12 July. http://nationalpost.com/opinion/paul-manson-when-it-comes-to-procuring-new-fighter-jets-theres-only-one-way-forward.
McDonough, David, and Brian Lee Crowley. 2017. Should We Purchase Interim Super Hornets? A Survey of the Experts. MacDonald-Laurier Institute. http://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLICommentary_June2017_SurveyF_webready.pdf.
Nossal, Kim Richard. 2016a. Canada Is Back. CDA Institute, Part I. http://cdainstitute.ca/canada-is-back-trudeau-and-foreign-policy-part-1.
Nossal, Kim Richard. 2016b. Canada Is Back. CDA Institute, Part II. http://cdainstitute.ca/canada-is-back-part-2-trudeau-and-the-use-of-force/.
Perry, Dave. 2018. Following the Funding in Strong, Secure, and Engaged. Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
Pugliese, David. 2017. What’s the Latest on Delivery of New Navy Ships? That’s Hush Hush, Federal Government Says. National Post, 23 November. http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/whats-the-latest-on-delivery-of-new-navy-shipsthats-hush-hush-federal-government-says.
Rempel, Roy. 2002. Chatter Box: An Insiders Account of the Irrelevance of Parliament in the Making of Canadian Foreign and Defence Policy. Toronto: Dundurn.
Rempel, Roy. 2006. Dreamland: How Canada’s Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Ring, Tom. 2016. The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy: How Did We Get to Where We Are Now?” Canadian Global Affairs, March.
Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. 2015. Tax Policy Centre Briefing Book. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-much-spending-uncontrollable.
Williams, Alan. 2007. Reinventing Canadian Defence Procurement: A View from the Inside. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
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
Rempel, R. (2020). Achieving Consensus and Effectiveness in Canadian Defence Policy. 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_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_15
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)