How should NATO respond to growing strategic links between the Taiwan Strait and the Euro-Atlantic theatre? In this article, Nguyen Bao Han Tran examines China’s calibrated military pressure on Taiwan and argues that NATO must prepare for the indirect consequences of a Taiwan contingency, from defence-industrial strain to cross-regional deterrence challenges.
4. Programs
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Au-delà des armes : la fragilisation des systèmes de santé comme stratégie de guerre et de coercion
Dans les conflits armés contemporains, la violence ne se limite plus aux affrontements militairesdirects, mais s’étend à des leviers indirects visant à affaiblir la résilience des sociétés civiles. Elles’étend désormais aux infrastructures civiles essentielles, et en particulier aux systèmes de santé,qui sont de plus en plus pris pour cibles de manière délibérée. Pourquoi la destruction Read More…
Caught between Allies and Autonomy: What the F-35 vs Gripen Dilemma means for Canada’s Defence and Security
Canada’s decision to replace its aging CF-18 fleet has taken on new geopolitical weight. Initially committed to procuring 88 F-35s, Ottawa began reconsidering further orders in 2025 amid deteriorating US-Canada relations, turning its attention to Sweden’s Gripen as an alternative. This article evaluates the two programs across four dimensions: homeland defence, alliance interoperability, industrial sovereignty, and combat performance. It finds that while the F-35 offers superior stealth and NATO integration, the Gripen presents compelling advantages in Arctic operability, cost efficiency, and supply chain independence. Ultimately, the right choice depends on whether Canada prioritizes allied commitments or long-term defence autonomy.
What Canada’s Bid to Host the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank Signals About Allied Rearmament and National Ambition
Rachel Potter examines Canada’s bid to host the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank and its implications for allied defence investment. She explores how the institution would mobilise capital markets to finance defence procurement and industrial expansion for NATO members and partner states, and how hosting the bank could position Canada at the centre of an emerging system of allied defence finance while strengthening its strategic role within the NATO security ecosystem.
Europe’s Rearmament and the Question of Allied Market Access
As the European Union moves to a more structured defence-industrial strategy, its new programmes are beginning to shape who gets financed to produce what, and on what terms. Canada has secured rare, privileged access to this emerging system through SAFE, but access alone does not guarantee durable industrial relevance. Are Canada, and allies, able to be meaningfully included?
A One-Year Retrospective on Mark Carney’s Defence Policy
March 16, 2026 marks one year since Mark Carney took office as Prime Minister of Canada, following his victory in the 2025 Liberal Party leadership race. Subsequently, in a rare federal election where foreign policy was the most salient issue, Carney promised to revitalize the Canadian Armed Forces and meet NATO defence spending guidelines while reinforcing Canada’s relationships with its non-US allies and partners. The zenith of Carney’s first year was Read More…
Women on the Northern Front: Canadian Women Leading Arctic Resilience
As Arctic security becomes increasingly central to Canada’s defence strategy and the broader priorities of NATO, women and notably Indigenous women, retain imperative roles in deploying Canada’s northern security strategy. Integrating women’s leadership into Arctic defence planning is critical to ensuring that Canada’s northern security strategy is both operationally effective and socially sound. This article aims to highlight key women currently contributing to Canada’s Arctic strategy, as well as illuminate the broader gendered implications of resilience in the North.
NATO’s Defence Capabilities: Quality, Quantity, and Self-Sufficiency
With rapid technological innovation, it can be tempting to make technology the central focus of the defence industry by assuming that superior advancements alone could secure victory on a potential battlefield. A dangerous assumption in this current political climate is to assume that war is unlikely and that defence funds would be better allocated elsewhere. Read More…
If You’re Not at the Table, You’re on the Grid: Middle Powers, Energy Systems, and Alliance Risk Tolerance
For much of the post-Cold War period, the relationship between economic policy and security policy within the transatlantic alliance was treated as complementary but distinct. Markets were expected to allocate resources, organize production, and deliver efficiency. Security institutions, by contrast, were expected to deter adversaries, manage military risk, and respond to external threats. That division Read More…
Strategic Capital or Strategic Risk? Chinese Investment and the Future of Canada’s Energy Security
The Canada-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap agreed between Ottawa and Beijing in January 2026 marks a thaw in the relationship that had largely frozen over the past decade. Accompanying that roadmap was a memorandum of understanding on strengthening energy cooperation that could help to facilitate renewed Chinese investment in Canada’s energy sector. Between 2018 Read More…










