Security chiefs: U.S. needs Canada for continental defence
Former Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison, currently BMO vice-chair of BMO Financial Group, interviewed National Defence Minister David McGuinty at the U.S.-Canada Summit Oct. 8. / MEANS & WAYS PHOTO
TORONTO—Canada and the United States need each other and a more integrated North American approach to security is essential for a safe future, say political and industry leaders from both sides of the border.
“The United States needs Canada. It’s not just a question of, ‘Is this a zero-sum game or a positive-sum game?’ It’s either win-win or lose-lose. We both lose if we don't have a decent relationship,” said Jane Harman, Chair of the U.S. Commission on the National Defence Strategy.
Harman made the comments at the U.S.-Canada Summit hosted by Eurasia Group and BMO in Toronto. The event brought together senior policymakers, defence officials, and business executives to discuss how Canada and the U.S. can adapt to new geopolitical and economic realities — from European rearmament to Arctic security and the race for critical minerals.
Harman pointed to examples of cooperation, especially following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, when Canada opened its airspace to U.S. airlines and the first and only time NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter to protect the U.S. She emphasized that economic and industrial collaboration are critical to national security in both countries. “Economic security is part of national security. Partners and allies are part of national security. It makes no sense to be pushing our partners and allies away,” she said.
Win and diversify
National Defence Minister David McGuinty, who spoke at the Summit in an interview with former Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison, highlighted the dual imperative of collaborating with the U.S. while expanding Canada’s global defence footprint. “We're not going to stop doing business with the United States,” he said. “We can skate, we can compete. We can win, we will, but we're also going to diversify.”
He pointed to opportunities in Europe, noting Canada is one of the few non-EU countries allowed into an emerging $1.25 trillion defence market. McGuinty also outlined the renewed operational responsibilities Canada is assuming in NATO and abroad. “We are back in this field in a more fulsome way, and it’s been well received,” he said.
Former U.S. Defence Department official Cara Abercrombie told the conference that while Canada is looking to diversify its defence procurements, it won’t entirely move away from the U.S. “The goal is to continue to have bilateral trade,” she said, noting the U.S. government considers anything produced in Canada to be as similar and secure as if it were made domestically.
“You can buy Canadian just as you can buy American,” she said.
In his conversation with Brison, now vice-chair of BMO Financial Group, McGuinty spoke about collaborating with the U.S. on missile defence. Stressing the rapid response required for modern threats, he said “Canada needs to be able to detect what’s coming at us.”
Continental shield talks
He said both governments are in talks about “a continental shield” – what President Donald Trump calls the Golden Dome – and that discussions include potential operational details.
McGuinty made clear Canada’s participation is not simply political but also technical and operational, involving sensors, radar, and coordination with U.S. missile defence systems. “What does it look like? How will it be constituted? What part of it will be Canada’s? How will it be operationalized under the context of NORAD?” he said, referring to North American Aerospace Defense Command, a binational military organization between Canada and the U.S. that provides aerospace and maritime threat detection and monitoring.
Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space, highlighted Canada’s technological edge in space systems: “Canada could operate all the satellite systems to do detection,” he said. “We can contribute the relevant systems to have a collaborative defence capability.”
He added: “We certainly are in the game technologically for sure and in some areas, absolutely ahead.”
He warned that global competitors, particularly China, are accelerating their space efforts. “I think that the investments in space activity have the potential to be outstripped by interest in China,” he said. “China is viewing the opportunity in space as a 10x opportunity for the Western world… and they are moving at a much faster pace to exploit financial and security opportunities of outer space.”
Raising domain awareness
Abercrombie said Arctic security is becoming increasingly important as well. “We’re seeing increased Russian and Chinese activity of intelligence [and] military nature. Domain awareness is critical… and this is something I think the U.S. and Canada will continue to work on together.”
Jeff Hanman, Executive Vice President at Teck, highlighted the industrial dimension of national security and the importance of critical minerals and a stable supply chain for the defence sector.
He said 50 years ago, Canada and the U.S. dominated the sector and “we’ve lost that position” to China, whose dominance in the critical minerals space and concentration of supply chain means risks for Canada, he said.
“We know from our history that almost regardless of your views on China, anytime you have that degree of supply chain concentration, it introduces risk. And I think that's really the key question or challenge for the mining industry in the space is how do we build greater resilience in your supply chain? So that all of us can have certainty that those metals that we need and rely on for our way of life will be there when we need them at a competitive price.”
Harman noted China is also exploiting the Arctic even though it has no borders there. “Getting this right is I think a way of thinking forward about the U.S.-Canada relationship, defence relationship, a way that we can not just rebuild, but build something better,” she said.
