The federal government has committed to bulking up Canada's defence and intelligence capabilities in a newly released national security plan, the first of its kind in over two decades.Released on Thursday, the Plan for a Stronger Canada outlines the government's outlook towards national security and its plan to beef up Canada's long-neglected armed forces and intelligence services."This is the plan for a sovereign, resilient, and prosperous Canada," a message from Prime Minister Mark Carney reads at the top line of the government readout."It has been over 20 years since Canada last published a national security policy. Today’s world demands a new plan that reflects profound new realities."The plan discloses that Canada's security outlook and ability to defend its sovereignty have changed; it highlights the need for Canada to begin looking out for itself in a world that is becoming increasingly volatile and a world where agreements and alliances are no longer as set in stone as they once were.To achieve this "greater strategic autonomy," as the plan calls it, the government states that Canada must develop "a secure and growing economy, a disciplined foreign policy, a stronger and more agile armed forces, reinforced national defence, and better intelligence functions." The plan commits that Canada will build "strategic autonomy and national resilience on our own terms.".The prime minister has long stressed the importance that "strategic autonomy" should have in the planning of Canada's future interests, often mentioning that Canada needs to have the ability to stick up for itself in this new geopolitical landscape.In the readout, the plan lists five key "national interests." These national interests are listed as strong Canadian sovereignty, a prosperous, inclusive, innovative Canadian economy, a cooperative, clear-eyed relationship with the United States, stability and security internationally, and the propagation of a values-based society.The plan describes national security as a "national imperative" and states that the federal government will "be transparent and engage Canadians on the seriousness of the threats and the need for effective responses, prepare for all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios, and pragmatically partner with countries who share our interests and work collectively through variable geometry coalitions to strengthen our Strategic Capabilities and advance our priorities."It stresses that "a Canada that controls its own destiny" is the ultimate end goal of this new strategic plan.The plan was released the same day that Carney announced that the federal government would be investing $1.6 billion into Canadian AI company Cohere, an investment that Carney tied into this newly released plan, saying that investing in domestic AI technology will help create this strategic autonomy for Canada..When it comes to how these goals will actually be implemented, the plan states that the prime minister will first "convene a First Ministers’ Meeting on National Security" to make sure that the provincial and territorial leaders are in line with the federal government's outlook.It also adds that national security will now become a "regular agenda item" at all First Ministers Meetings going forward.It also states that the federal government will deepen and expand its collaboration with regional authorities on issues such as "economic security, foreign interference, organized crime, emergency response, violent extremism, and election security."The government also adds that it will directly consult with "strategic sectors of industry, labour unions, and academia," as well in this new plan.It closes by saying that a new and updated version of this plan will be provided by the government "every four years" to ensure that it remains modern and up to date."Canadians should expect more frequent updates to Canada’s national security legislative framework to adapt to the pace of new threats and protect our common values."It is expected that a new national foreign policy plan, similar to this national defence plan, will be released by the government in around a month from this release, with other plans on other key sectors also expected.
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