Canada is moving to loosen its long-standing defense dependence on the U.S., unveiling its first defense industrial strategy with a clear message: Ottawa can no longer assume Washington will serve as its economic or military backstop.
The strategy, released this month by three senior ministers in Prime Minister Mark Carney's government, argues that "long-held assumptions have been upended — about the end of imperial conquest, the durability of peace in Europe, and the resilience of old alliances."
In what reads as a notable shift in tone, the document stresses that Canada must build the capacity to "sustain its own defense and safeguard its own sovereignty."
The policy marks a significant break for America's northern neighbor.
President Donald Trump's past remarks about Canada becoming the 51st state have not been dismissed lightly in Ottawa. A recent Globe and Mail poll conducted by Nanos Research found that just 9% of Canadians view the U.S. as a trustworthy ally.
Carney has pledged to "double our defense expenditures by the end of this decade," while steering more contracts to Canadian firms and increasing investment in Arctic security.
"The truth is, over the last few decades, Canada has neither spent enough on our defense nor invested enough in our defense industries," Carney said. "We have relied too heavily on our geography and others to protect us."
Under the plan, Canada aims to award 70% of defense procurement dollars to domestic companies, boost defense exports by 50% and create 125,000 jobs nationwide.
Because small and midsize businesses dominate Canada's defense sector, the transformation is expected to take years.
Analysts say the strategy sends a signal that Ottawa wants less reliance on American defense giants.
Still, Canada is not positioning itself against the U.S. Shared institutions such as NORAD, NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance ensure the two countries remain closely linked.
"Canada is finally aligning with Europe on a hard truth: sovereignty isn't declared, it's manufactured," Eliot Pence, CEO of Dominion Dynamics, told Axios.
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