Canada’s Un-strategic Defence Policy

Canada has an un-strategic approach to defence. Although Canada’s official defence policy documents speak in strategic terms, the country’s approach to military affairs is driven by means, rather than ends. The Canadian government views strategy as the purview of larger allies, with Canada playing a supporting role. What matters in Ottawa is less to achieve its defence goals than to contribute to their attainment. In other words, Canada’s defence policy is more efforts-based than results-oriented. With strategy being determined elsewhere, Canada settles on being a valuable contributor. Canadian defence is un-strategic, then, because strategizing has been left to others, leaving Canada to focus on contributions. We begin with a brief discussion of strategic and un-strategic approaches to defence. We then examine Canada’s un-strategic defence policy in the area of force development, as well as in the context of the war in Ukraine. We conclude with a discussion of what a strategic approach to defence would look like in Canada, and how the 2024 defence policy update, Our North, Strong and Free, fares in this regard.