The Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute recently launched a federal election petition calling on 10,000 Canadians to demonstrate their support for a special leaders’ debate on Canada’s national security and foreign policy. 

Signatories are calling on the five major political parties to “hold a special leaders’ debate focused on the subject of Canada’s national security and foreign policy, so that Canadians may understand where parties have consensus, how each party’s vision proposes to manage new and emerging challenges, and how they plan to rebuild, recapitalize, and revitalize the CAF and Canada’s overall national security and foreign policy agenda.” 

This call to action emerges in the wake of unprecedented threats to Canada’s sovereignty and decades-long systemic underfunding of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and responds to the last time a leaders’ debate on national security and foreign policy took place: 2015, with all following attempts having failed on account of the parties’ refusal to participate. 

Notable signatories include: 

Former Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay (Conservative) | Former Minister of National Defence David Pratt (Liberal) | Former Chief of the Defence Staff Gen (Ret’d) Ray Henault | Former Chief of the Defence Staff Gen (Ret’d) Tom Lawson| Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff LGen (Ret’d) Guy Thibault | Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff VAdm (Ret’d) Denis Rouleau | Former Commander of the Army LGen (Ret’d) Marquis Hainse | Former Chief of Personnel LGen (Ret’d) Christine Whitecross | Former Principle of the Royal Military College of Canada Dr. John Scott Cowan 

This petition was launched alongside the release of an election resources platform for Canadians to track timely commentary and electoral promised made by the five parties. The CDA Institute also released a statement in which it writes, “The federal election is an opportunity to have a pressing and urgent debate on Canada’s military preparedness. It is now incumbent on all federal political parties to set out their views. Party platforms should incorporate long-term and credible plans that will ensure our territorial integrity and our ability to contribute to international burden sharing in support of our values and interests.”

Full Statement:

Sovereignty and national security must be the highest priority of any government.

This election takes place against the backdrop of serious threats to our sovereignty and national security.

The federal election is an opportunity to have a pressing and urgent debate on Canada’s military preparedness.

It is now incumbent on all federal political parties to set out their views. Party platforms should incorporate long-term and credible plans that will ensure our territorial integrity and our ability to contribute to international burden sharing in support of our values and interests.

The Canadian Armed Forces are short 13,600 personnel, roughly half of material has been deemed unserviceable in internal documents of the Department of National Defence, and the level of investment and speed of procurement in its current form fails to keep pace with today’s unpredictable threat environment.

Since one only fights with the forces they have, not the forces they are planning, there is urgency to commit unequivocally to the recapitalization of the Canadian Armed Forces. A rearmament of this magnitude and speed should inspire an all-party consensus, especially knowing that surveys indicate public opinion supports this necessity. 

Canada’s alliances remain critical to our future security. Parties should commit to preserving Canada’s credibility with our allies by benchmarking our future defence spending against NATO targets and the spending of comparable partners. State of the art interoperable equipment will be a necessary prerequisite to effective cooperation.  A well-resourced defence industrial strategy needs to foster international defence development collaboration.

The increased demand on CAF resources to assist civil authorities with challenges such as floods, fires, disease, law enforcement, and other safety and security concerns, now requires that new resources be allocated to ensure that these challenges can be met effectively without compromising other elements of the CAF’s mandate. Strengthened cooperation with other levels of government and civil society is required to improve standing capacity rather than reinventing the wheel with each new crisis.

The reemergence of great power competition, including in our Arctic, the continued threats posed by non-state actors, the plethora of current hot spots (eg. Ukraine, the Taiwan Strait, and the Middle East) highlight the need for a strong and ready Canadian Armed Forces able to provide the government with flexibility and options to act. The Conference of Defence Associations and CDA Institute call on all parties to engage in vigorous and informed debate on these issues in the weeks ahead.