Good morning.
Thank you, Minister McGuinty, for the introduction.
To the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members present here, to those across Canada, to those around the world – thank you for your service, for your sacrifice, and for representing the very best of our country every day.
Since 1759, generations of service members have called this base home.
CFB Halifax is Canada's largest military base, home to 10,000 CAF members.
All of you have taken on enormous responsibilities, knowing they require extraordinary personal sacrifice to protect peace and security for Canada and our Allies.
Yet, for too long, instead of reinforcing your strength – we relied too heavily on your dedication alone to keep Canadians secure.
No more.
In the first week of our federal election campaign, we committed to pay our women and men in uniform properly and arm them with the best equipment.
And we are getting it done.
The assumptions that shaped decades of Canadian defence and foreign policy have been completely upended.
The threats we face are numerous and growing – ranging from incursions into our Arctic to attacks targeting our cyberspace.
The very nature of warfare is changing rapidly, driven by the proliferation of drones, autonomous systems, and weapons in orbit.
We know that the world has changed, and that Canada must change with it.
By 2014, Canada’s defence spending had fallen to just 1% of our GDP.
Our military infrastructure and equipment had aged, hindering our military readiness.
That is why, six weeks after forming government, we announced our ambitious plan to rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the CAF.
A core objective is to achieve the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) 2% target this year. That’s the highest level since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
We embarked on this mission to protect Canadians, to defend our territory, to protect our borders, and to boost our sovereignty.
Because we control our own destiny.
We are masters of our own house.
I am pleased to announce today that we have kept our ambitious promise.
For the past 10 months, Canada’s new government has worked with unprecedented speed and scale.
In 10 months, we have spent over $60 billion on our defence and security.
The single largest year-on-year increase in defence investment in generations.
As a result of these efforts, this morning, NATO confirmed that Canada has achieved its 2% defence expenditure target – half a decade ahead of the original schedule.
This is the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall that Canada will be spending 2%of GDP on defence.
Canadians are responding to our renewed commitment and the call to serve.
Applications to join the CAF are up 13% since last year.
The 2% target is not a ceiling for Canada’s defence investment, but rather the foundation.
In June, we agreed to investing 3.5% on defence expenditure, and another 1.5% on critical infrastructure like highways and bridges.
To accelerate our efforts, today we are announcing a package of infrastructure and real property investments across Atlantic Canada worth more than $3 billion.
In Nova Scotia, we are making major, targeted investments to modernise critical infrastructure, build new facilities to support the next generation of naval and air fleets, and expand training and operational capacity.
We’re investing:
- over $1 billion to modernise the heating, electrical, and fire protection systems at CFB Dockyard and Stadacona;
- a new, more than $640 million contract at 14 Wing Greenwood to build the hangar and drone infrastructure needed to support the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft;
- over $180 million to build the Combatant Training and Integration Centre – supporting training, operations, and integration for the Royal Canadian Navy’s future river-class destroyers;
- more than $80 million to acquire Halifax Gate, a massive waterfront industrial site in Dartmouth, that will support current and future Royal Canadian Navy operations; and
- we are acquiring new residential units in Nova Scotia for CAF Members and their families.
And in New Brunswick, we are investing more than $1 billion in CFB Gagetown to recapitalise our primary army training area, introduce new ground-based air defence systems, and ensure our soldiers train on infrastructure built to last the next century.
We are also upgrading transition centres in the province for CAF members and their families, because every member of our Armed Forces deserves a safe, high-quality place to call home.
This $3 billion package reaffirms Canada’s new approach to support and invest in our Armed Forces.
Our approach rests on four pillars:
- First, investing in the foundations of defence – the women and men who serve, and the equipment and the infrastructure they use;
- Second, expanding and enhancing our military capabilities;
- Third, strengthening Canada’s defence industry; and
- Finally, diversifying Canada’s defence partnerships.
Our greatest strength is the women and men of the CAF.
You carry the Canadian flag and risk your lives for us – for our values – for our Allies. Your pay should reflect the weight of your responsibilities.
That is why we implemented the largest pay raise for the CAF in a generation, with all members of the CAF receiving a pay raise.
The pay raises were retroactive to April 1, 2025, and they were increases on top of base pay, putting more money in the pockets of all members.
We also introduced a new Military Service Pay Benefit specifically tied to time in service so your pay cheques honour years in uniform.
If the members of the Forces are called to serve here at home in a flood, a wildfire or another disaster, we now recognise the importance of the services they provide to us with increased pay.
Higher pay means greater financial resilience, more stability, more career choices for spouses, and more opportunities for their children to pursue their dreams.
The second pillar of our strategy is expanding and enhancing our military capabilities.
We are overhauling the way we arm our Armed Forces members so they have the tools they need to keep Canadians safe.
Over the next decade, Canada will unleash half a trillion dollars in defence investment – from submarines and aircraft to drones, sensors, and radar systems.
We will build the essential infrastructure for our security needs.
Earlier this month, I announced in Yellowknife a $40-billion investment in Canada’s North and Arctic – from military infrastructure and Northern Operational Support Hubs to the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Grays Bay Road and Port project.
Today, sovereignty requires more than conventional defence. It requires reliable access to critical strategic capabilities such as space-based communications, and unhindered access to artificial intelligence (AI).
It requires digital sovereignty, beginning with a sovereign cloud and extending throughout the intelligence infrastructure stack.
The Canadian Quantum Champions Program is supporting cutting-edge technology and intellectual property (IP) in Canada.
Our $200-million investment in sovereign space launch capabilities means we will have our own access to space – without depending on any other country.
Through the new Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership (BOREALIS), we are coordinating and accelerating Canada's defence research and innovation in frontier technologies, including quantum and AI.
From domestic ammunition production and Over-the-Horizon Radar, to quantum, AI, and drones – we are building with Canadian materials, Canadian expertise, and Canadian workers across the country.
Strategic autonomy does not mean isolation. It means being strong enough to be a partner of choice – rather than a dependent.
It means building a domestic defence industrial base so that we never have to depend on the decisions of other countries.
The third pillar of our mission is to strengthen Canada’s domestic industrial base.
We launched the Defence Investment Agency to streamline procurement, cut duplicative approvals, and get CAF members the equipment they need.
We are already delivering results.
Last week, Minister McGuinty and Secretary of State Fuhr announced a new contract to Kitchener-based Colt Canada to procure 65,000 new rifles for the CAF – replacing the current stock which has been in service for more than 35 years.
Last month, we announced Canada's first-ever Defence Industrial Strategy – a bold plan to get our Armed Forces what they need, when they need it; scale Canadian defence companies; and put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in the strategic sectors of our economy.
Its framework is simple: build, partner, buy.
We are focused on building in Canada first, directing procurement to Canadian firms where we have sovereign capabilities. Where we cannot build, we are partnering with like-minded allies – attracting investment, transferring IP, and integrating supply chains so public dollars flow back to Canada. Only after exhausting these options will we buy from a diverse range of partners abroad.
Our Defence Industrial Strategy is designed to create 125,000 high-paying careers and help double government investment in research and development.
The final element of our strategy is to diversify our defence partnerships.
We have agreed to a comprehensive strategic partnership with the European Union (EU), including becoming the only non-EU country to join Security Action for Europe (SAFE) – their defence procurement arrangement.
And we’ve signed 20 defence and trade partnerships on four continents in 10 months.
To the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces:
You serve. You sacrifice. You keep Canada secure. You exemplify the very best of what this country is capable of.
Over this past year, I have visited bases across the country and around the world – from Halifax and Trenton to Yellowknife and Nanoose Bay.
From Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia to Exercise Cold Response in Norway.
I have seen firsthand your courage and dedication to your mission. My colleagues and I are committed to ensuring that you have everything you need to serve our country.
In moments of crisis, when people see the maple leaf on a sleeve, they see hope. They get help.
Whether that is training Ukrainian soldiers or standing on guard in the Arctic.
Over the past eleven months, one of our government’s key priorities has been to reinvest in rebuilding and rearming the CAF to provide you with the support you need to achieve mission success. We will continue our efforts with the same speed and determination that we have shown from the very beginning.
In this century, the work of defending Canada is the work of building Canada.
Security and prosperity are not competing priorities.
They are mutually reinforcing foundations of a strong and sovereign Canada – of the true North, strong and free.
In a more fractured and darker world, Canadian leadership will be defined not just by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength.
You are the foundation of that strength on which we are building Canada strong and free.
Thank you.