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© 2025 Conference of Defence Associations Institute
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The CDA Institute's programming convenes experts in Canadian defence, international security, and politics to provide nuanced discussion about current and ongoing issues in defence and security. https://cdainstitute.ca/
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Through Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine demonstrates the critical role of middle powers in combatting contemporary security challenges. Since 2015, Op UNIFIER has provided training and advisory support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Helping to strengthen their capacity, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has served as a bridge to increase Ukrainian’s interoperability with other NATO partners. Particularly since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the mission has...
The rapidly shifting international environment has sparked renewed interest in CANZUK cooperation as a potential axis for middle powers seeking to safeguard their autonomy and security. While Canada, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand have a long history of informal defence collaboration through arrangements like the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, formalizing CANZUK into a robust security partnership faces practical hurdles. In this week’s Expert Series, John Blaxland and Srdjan Vucetic e...
As Arctic tensions rise, missile technologies advance, and U.S. foreign policy veers toward unilateralism, NORAD faces mounting pressure to evolve. But can it? And will Canada rise to meet the challenge alongside the United States, or risk being left behind? Furthermore, will Canada step into the BMD conversation? In this week’s installment of the Expert Series, Dr. James Fergusson joins us to unpack whether and how Canada and the U.S. can overcome political, technical, and geographic challe...
The war in Ukraine is not just a regional conflict, it is a pivotal struggle over the future of liberal democracy, Western unity, and the global balance of power. With Russia pursuing expansionist aims, the West divided, and President Donald Trump reshaping U.S. foreign policy, the outcome of this war could determine whether democratic values or authoritarian spheres of influence define the next world order. Steven Pifer and Angela Stent joined this week’s Expert Series to unpack the evolvin...
With the Royal Canadian Navy facing urgent demands to grow its workforce, maintain aging ships, and prepare for increasingly complex security challenges in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific, can it balance immediate operational needs with long-term modernization? Today, Vice Admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the royal Canadian navy, joins us for a discussion on the future of the RCN, its challenges, priorities, and evolving role in a more contested global security environment. VAdm Topshee detail...
Charles Davies Joined the Expert Series to discuss the need for Canada to rethink its approach to national defence in response to a rapidly changing global security environment. Davies analyzes the impact of the changing global security environment on Canada’s defence posture and strategy, why its essential for Canada to shed its identity as a “small power” punching above its weight and embrace its potential on the world stage, the need for long-term whole-life management of defence capabili...
This week, Canada sat with its allies at the Hague and agreed to triple its defence funding over the next 10 years. Former Defence Minister Peter MacKay joined us to discuss the outcomes of the 76th NATO Summit in The Hague, which saw commitment from all 32 NATO members to increase defence spending, the geopolitical drivers behind this shift, concerns over Canada’s deteriorating military capabilities and systemic challenges in defence procurement, as well as the need for economic growth to su...
On Monday, June 9th, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will accelerate its defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by the end of the 2025–2026 fiscal year, moving the target forward by several years. With Canada accelerating defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2025-26, how can the government and the CAF prepare for the far greater challenges and restructuring needed beyond just hitting the target? Former Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and former Vice Chief of the Defenc...
On Monday, June 9th, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will accelerate its defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by the end of the 2025–2026 fiscal year, moving the target forward by several years. CDAI Board Member and former NSIA to the Prime Minister, Vincent Rigby, joined the Expert Series to analyze the announcement, discussing the challenges of getting to 2%, matching new investments with appropriate personnel amid a recruitment and retention crisis, and the necessity of ...
Could a swarm of cheap drones launched from hidden trucks inside Russian territory mark a turning point in the Ukraine war? Nearly a week ago, Ukraine carried out a covert drone operation inside Russia, striking five military air bases and damaging or destroying a significant number of strategic bombers. The attack, codenamed “Spider’s Web,” involved 117 small, explosive-laden drones that were smuggled into Russia hidden in trucks, then launched remotely from locations just a few kilometers ...
As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on and tensions rise along NATO’s eastern flank, Lithuania is sounding the alarm, not just for itself, but for the entire transatlantic alliance If countries like Lithuania or Latvia are tested and Canada—or other members of the Alliance—hesitate, it could damage the credibility of NATO's collective defence. This would not only undermine the Alliance, but embolden authoritarian powers globally. To deter growing Russian aggression and help preserve the inte...
With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific and the global economy vulnerable to disruption, Canada faces growing pressure to define its role in a region that is central to future global security and prosperity. As great power competition intensifies, and China ramps up military activity and rhetoric around a potential invasion of Taiwan, Canada must confront the limitations of its naval capacity, the urgency of alliance-building, and the need for a coherent strategic vision for its engagement w...
Dr. Rob Huebert joins today's Expert Series podcast to discuss the implications of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada is exploring participation in the United States' “Golden Dome” defence initiative, unveiled by Donald Trump earlier this week. The Golden Dome, designed to intercept hypersonic, ballistic, and space-based threats, would mark a major expansion of American missile defence capabilities, echoing Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Dr. Huebert explains ...
What do recent changes in the United States’s strategic posture mean for the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance? Over the past several months, allies within the Five Eyes have flagged an alarming level of polarization within the U.S. intelligence community. While the alliance has faced challenges before, new difficulties regarding intelligence-sharing dynamics, as well as domestic politics, and bilateral relationships between individual partners have raised concerns. Today...
How did the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine reawaken strategic thinking in the West? Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine poses challenges for the future of international security. Joining us today is Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London, to discuss the ways in which the global system is increasingly being shaped by hard-power confrontation. Beginning with a discussion in the strategic shifts that have emerged across the NA...
How should Canada increase its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region? The South China Sea has become a global flashpoint for economic and military tensions. Despite Canada itself being a Pacific nation, our regional engagement and relations with regional partners remain limited. Jonathan Berkshire Miller and Stephen Nagy joined the Expert Series to discuss the challenging context Canada now faces in developing its Indo-Pacific posture. Of the challenges presented, Berkshire Miller...
Faced with heated threats in the Arctic and American uncertainty in bilateral cooperation, Arctic sovereignty and security has emerged at the forefront of security concerns in the recent Canadian federal election. We met with Dr. Andrea Charron and Dr. Whitney Lackenbauer to discuss Canada’s answer to the Arctic question. With the 51st narrative still looming high on Canada’s mind, NORAD cooperation— tasked with protecting the Canadian-American Arctic air space—now faces new threats and stipu...
What is driving Canada's ongoing military recruitment and retention crisis, and how can the CAF address the challenges that are preventing it from meeting its personnel needs in an increasingly unstable global security environment? In this Expert Series episode, Charlotte Duval-Lantoine outlines the underlying causes of the CAF’s personnel crisis: outdated recruitment processes and delayed security clearances for permanent residents, to poor housing, healthcare access, and dissatisfaction wit...
In today’s episode of the Expert Series, moderator Benjamin Ofosu-Atuahene talks with Dr. David Black, Dr. Marie-Joelle Zahar, Dr. Yolande Bouka, and Dr. Andrew Grant about the highs and lows of Canada’s Africa Strategy. Amidst talk of Canada diversifying its alliances, Canada’s Africa Strategy sets the scene for potential expansion of Canada’s relationships. An opportunity arises for Canada to do its part in creating global security; Africa, rich with natural resources, could lead to a more ...
In today’s episode of the Expert Series, we meet with Egidijus Meilūnas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Canada. Through conversations regarding Lithuania’s current defence buildup, Ambassador Egidijus Meilunas highlights the ways in which Canada-Lithuania defence cooperation can transform the alliance’s north. As Lithuania plans to increase its GDP spending on defence to nearly 5-6% by 2032, it is poised to serve as a model for other NATO allies. Particularly for other member states with di...
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