It is a pleasure. There’s no better place to have this announcement, this discussion than the Munk School. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here. You know, this institution, over the course of the past two decades, faculty students, graduates have helped shape Canada’s domestic policies, our geopolitical strategies, and, of course, beyond our shores as well. And we wanted to make this announcement here because your insights here at Munk have never been in more demand than at this hinge moment in our history. Threats from a more dangerous and divided world are unravelling the rules-based international order. An order that was fused by the settlements at the end of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War, an order on which Canada has relied for longer than many of our lifetimes. And while the consequences of these developments are profound, we have agency. We have agency in determining what comes next. Canada can work towards a new international set of partnerships that are more secure, prosperous, just, and free. We can pursue deeper alliances with stable democracies who share our interests, values, principles, and history. And we can help create a new era of integration between like-minded partners that maximizes mutual support over mutual dependency, a new system of cooperation that promotes greater resilience rather than merely a quest for greater efficiency.

Now, we can aspire to such a world, but aspiration without effort is just empty rhetoric. If we want a better world, we will have to make difficult choices and work harder than we’ve had to in decades. Government must start by fulfilling its most fundamental role, which is to defend Canadians. And the primary focus of my remarks today will be the nature and scale of what that will require in this new age. But first, let me stress that there can be no true security without economic prosperity. And that’s one of the many reasons why so much of the energy of Canada’s new government is dedicated and will be dedicated to transforming our economy to become the strongest in the G7. Getting there will require doubling the rate of home building, creating one Canadian economy out of 13, realizing our full potential as an energy superpower, pursuing a host of other nation-building projects, and diversifying our international commercial relationships with reliable partners. None of these goals will come easily or quickly. All will require ambition, collaboration and yes, on occasion, sacrifice. In a darker, more competitive world, Canadian leadership will be defined not just by the strength of our values, but also the value of our strength. A more confident, united Canada, a stronger Canada can help transform this age of disorder into an era of prosperity for all Canadians. And simply put, if we want a more reliable world, we need a stronger Canada. If Canada came of age at Vimy Ridge, we matured in the decades that followed D-Day.

Since the Second World War, Canada has asserted its independence. We have forged our own identity and new alliances. We increasingly distanced ourselves from the United Kingdom and grew closer to the United States. We stood beside the American people throughout the Cold War and over the decades that followed, as the… the United States played a prominent role on the world stage. Today, that prominence is a thing of the past. 

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States became the global hegemon. Its gravitational pull on Canada, always strong, became virtually irresistible, and made the U.S. our closest ally and dominant trading partner. But now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony, charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security. In parallel, the world’s trade routes, allegiances, energy systems, and even intelligence itself are being rewired. Rising great powers are now in strategic competition with America. A new imperialism threatens. Middle powers must compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they’re not at the table, they’re on the menu. Indeed, the threats that Canada faces are multiplying. Hostile powers, including foreign governments and non-state actors, are transcending geography to threaten our sovereignty. Terrorist entities have developed new capabilities and expanded their reach to challenge global security and put our communities at risk. Cyber attacks from the other side of the world can undermine our government, bankrupt our businesses, and paralyze our infrastructure.

In addition to their cybersecurity capabilities, the traditional military capabilities of countries like China and Russia are also increasing. Unfortunately, we can longer rely on our geographic location to protect Canadians from these threats.

The long-held view that Canada’s geographic location will protect us is becoming increasingly archaic. Threats which felt far away and remote are now immediate and acute. And as our climate changes and the polar ice recedes, Canada’s Arctic is becoming more accessible and more vulnerable to commercial and military activity. We’ve been jolted awake by new threats to our security and sovereignty, including from an emboldened Russia and an assertive China. Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine shattered previous assumptions of European post-Cold War security, leading to sharp reappraisals of the costs of collective responsibility and underscored how precious and precarious are international law, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and human rights. Disregarding these principles would not only betray our values, but also imperil our nation. When we stand up for territorial integrity, whether it’s in Ukraine or West Bank and Gaza, we are also standing up for the territorial integrity of the Canadian Arctic. Ten years ago, Canada’s defence spending fell to less than 1% of GDP. It has since doubled in cash terms, but is still not close enough to face these mounting risks. The brave women and men who are protecting our sovereignty do not have the resources they need for a riskier world. Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness. I’ll give an example or two. Only one of four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. Or broadly, we’re too reliant on the United States.

And so, for all those reasons, I’m announcing today that Canada will achieve NATO’s 2% of GDP target this year, half a decade ahead of schedule. And we will further accelerate our investments in years to come, consistent with meeting these new security imperatives. We’ll start by changing the way we support and invest in our armed forces. We will change the way we arm the men and women who serve, so we can fight on new battlegrounds in unfamiliar territory, so we can defend every inch of our sovereign territory, from sea floor to the Arctic to cyberspace, so we can protect Canadians, our interests, and our allies. Canada’s new government will rebuild, reinvest, and rearm the Canadian Armed Forces with a strategy that rests on four pillars. Investing in the foundations of defence, the women and men who serve, and the equipment and infrastructure that they use. Second, we will enhance and expand our military capabilities. Third, will strengthen Canada’s defence industry, and we will diversify Canada’s defence partnerships. I call on all parties in Parliament to support these critical investments in our security and sovereignty. Our plan will help ensure that Canada is strong at home and reliable abroad. We will ensure that every dollar is invested wisely, including by prioritizing made in Canada, manufacturing and supply chains. We should no longer spend three quarters of our defence capital spending to America. We will invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles, and artillery, as well as new radar, drones, and sensors to monitor the sea floor and the Arctic. 

We will repair and maintain the ships, new (inaudible), and infrastructure that we have allowed to deteriorate for too long. We will invest in satellite technologies to detect and prevent threats to Canada and to our allies.

We will ensure Canada’s north is protected with larger sustained year-round Canadian armed forces presence on land, sea, and air. We will expand the reach security mandate and the abilities of the Canadian Coast Guard and integrate it into our native defence capabilities to better secure our sovereignty and expand maritime surveillance. As part of our new strategic approach to defence and security, we will also establish BOREALIS, the Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science. BOREALIS will advance cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other frontier technologies essential to safeguarding our sovereignty.

We will address the shortage of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces by modernizing the recruitment process, by building new housing on our military bases, and by improving access to health and childcare services. We will give every member of our armed forces a well-earned pay raise, which will also help to recruit and retain personnel. At this very moment, the Canadian Armed Forces are fighting forest fires to protect their fellow Canadians and their communities, and defending our coastlines and waters. They are patrolling the Arctic and supporting our allies on Russia’s borders. They are doing so in difficult conditions and, too often, with equipment that is inadequate. They deserve more, and they will get more. 

In parallel, we are actively seeking to strengthen transatlantic security, particularly by becoming a participant in ReArm Europe. This will help diversify our military suppliers with reliable European partners and integrate the Canadian defence industry as full participants in €150 billion of Europe’s rearmament program. To these ends, the Canada-EU summit later this month will be more important than ever, and Canada will arrive at this summit with a plan to lead, with new investments to build our strength in service of our values. This will include our support for a new NATO defence industrial pledge, which will be negotiated at the NATO summit. The defence industrial pledge encompasses both assets and infrastructure that support our defence goals. Canada is confident that our economic strategy and our many strategic resources, from critical minerals to cyber, will make major contributions to NATO’s security. We will support tangible commitments from our allies to provide NATO with the necessary resolve to deter aggression and protect against all adversaries in all domains. Our fundamental goal in all of this is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO’s accounts.

What will ensure our security and the security of all citizens in NATO member states is tangible progress, not a mathematical calculation. That is the approach that Canada will advocate and the one we will be presenting to our NATO allies later this month. 

We will undertake this transformation of our military capability strategically, deliberately, and impactfully. Canada’s Department of National Defence will immediately design a new defence policy that reflects both today’s and tomorrow’s threats, informed by experts, some in this room, and the experience of allies and partners, including Ukraine. We’re in the process of creating a new defence procurement agency that will be guided by that new defence industrial strategy and overseen by our newly appointed Secretary of State for Defence Procurement. The Defence Procurement Agency will centralize decision making and move at pace to get our armed forces the equipment they need when they need it. We will ensure that Canadian workers and businesses benefit from the huge increase in defence procurement that will be required using Canadian steel, Canadian aluminum, Canadian critical minerals, Canadian cyber.

We will increase our industrial capacities and give ourselves the tools we need to meet our defence requirements and seize the opportunities that arise. We will invest more in Canadian weapons and ammunition, and in those produced by a range of allies. 

It will be challenging to protect Canada and Canadians against growing and changing threats all while building a stronger Canadian economy. But these are the imperatives of a more dangerous world. And as His Majesty the King reminded us just two weeks ago, our greatest challenges present immense opportunities to build the military we need. We can deploy and develop Canadian innovation, Canadian ingenuity, Canadian industry. The transformation of our military capabilities can help with the transformation of our economy. Today, national defence already accounts for over 275,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country in over 3,000 communities, every province, every territory. Our renewed commitment to defence will create tens of thousands of more fulfilling, high-paying careers for Canadian workers. It will create enormous opportunities for Canadian businesses, yes, in the defence sector, but across a link of supply chains from the production of the raw materials, steel, and aluminum, to the truckers and rail workers who ensure their transit, to those who transformed those materials into equipment, weapons, ammunition, vehicles. It will help drive innovation in sectors including A.I., quantum and cyber. It will safeguard Canada as well as our interests and allies abroad. It will build Canada strong.

We will ensure our security in a world that has profoundly changed. We will create good careers and prosperity across Canada. And in so doing, we will also protect that prosperity, protect our quality of life, and protect our way of life. 

Throughout Canada’s history, there have been turning points where the world’s fortunes were in the balance. That was the case at the start of the Second World War, just as it was at the end of the Cold War and each time Canada chose to step up, to assert ourselves as a free, sovereign, and ambitious nation, to lead on the path of democracy and freedom. And we are once again at such a hinge moment.

It is time for Canada to chart its own path, to assert itself on the world stage. It is time to defend our values, together with those who share them. It is time to share a distinct approach and a distinct vision with the world. 

Now is the time to act with urgency, with force, with determination. As the world grows more dangerous, Canada will ensure our country is protected from coast to coast to coast, while creating higher paying jobs across the land. Canada will lead with the values the world respects, the resources the world wants, an economy that leads the G7. We will build a strong, secure, and sovereign future for all Canadians and for all time. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.