4. Programs

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Security, Trade and the Economy

The Value of our Strength: How Carney’s Davos Speech Exposes NATO’s Economic Security Gap

As NATO faces an era of unprecedented economic coercion between allies, can a military alliance built for tanks and treaties truly protect its members from tariffs and trade wars? In this article, Kaya Dupuis examines Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s landmark speech at the World Economic Forum, arguing that Canada’s pivot toward “strategic autonomy”, leveraging energy, critical minerals and bilateral trade deals as defensive tools, exposes a fundamental gap in NATO’s mandate, one that leaves middle powers increasingly vulnerable to economic threats that Article 5 was never designed to address.
Indo-Pacific and NATO

Avoiding Escalation Pitfalls: Australia and NATO 

What does the Australia-NATO partnership mean in the current moment of geopolitical flux? In this piece, junior research fellow Joel Sawyer examines the strategic histories driving Australia-NATO alignment, the potential hazards of deepening military cooperation, and how to move the relationship forward. 
Indo-Pacific and NATO

Not Just a Submarine: South Korea’s Bid and Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy 

As Ottawa weighs its next submarine fleet, the stakes extend far beyond procurement. Tasneem Gedi argues that South Korea’s KSS-III could help Canada restore its undersea capabilities, strengthen its Indo-Pacific posture, and lay the foundation for a deeper defence relationship with Seoul. In a more demanding world, that makes this a strategic decision with consequences well beyond the navy itself. 
Security, Trade and the Economy

The power of Atom, shared: Future of Canada’s extended nuclear deterrence within NATO. 

Recent shifts in US defence policy have cast doubt on the reliability of the American nuclear umbrella that Canada and NATO allies have relied on for decades. While European states explore alternative deterrence arrangements through possible nuclear sharing by France and the UK, Canada’s access to these options is limited by its geography. This article argues that Canada can address this vulnerability without compromising its non-proliferation commitments by deepening its role in NORAD. Canada’s strategic importance to North America’s Arctic defence gives Ottawa unique leverage – which it should actively use to reinforce its membership within the American extended nuclear deterrence in face of mounting global security challenges.

NATO and Canada

To Be or Not to Be: Why the Acquisition of the F-35 is a Canadian Necessity

As Ottawa revisits its commitment to purchase 88 F-35A fighter jets, Jonah Moffatt argues that renewed hesitation signals strategic indecision and that a mixed fleet including the less advanced Saab JAS-39 Gripen would dilute Canadian airpower. If Canada seeks to lead within NATO and fulfil its middle-power ambitions, it is necessary to ground credibility in capability and avoid prioritizing political considerations over long-term security interests.
Energy Security

When Energy Becomes Leverage: What China’s Medog Dam Reveals About Infrastructure Power

Energy infrastructure is rarely just about energy. Pipelines shape geopolitics, power grids encode alliances, and ports built for trade can quickly acquire military relevance. China’s planned Medog Hydropower Station in Tibet (Xizang) is a striking illustration of this reality. At first glance, it is a colossal clean-energy project meant to advance decarbonization and domestic energy Read More…
Canadian Armed Forces Jasmine Doobay-Joseph

Can External Recruitment Address Skill Shortages in the Canadian Armed Forces?

As the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) continue to operate below authorized strength, the Government of Canada has announced plans to create a pathway for skilled foreign military recruits to help fill shortages in critical occupations. This reflects a broader challenge facing allied militaries: how to fill urgent personnel gaps without creating new long-term problems. This article examines whether foreign recruitment is becoming a lasting part of force generation or whether it is being used to respond to ongoing personnel pressures.
Drawing on examples from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, the article argues that external recruitment works best when it is connected to broader personnel planning, domestic training systems, and retention efforts. While it can help ease pressure in high-skill occupations such as aviation and medicine, its long-term value depends on whether it strengthens the force over time. The analysis suggests that foreign recruitment can support capability, but its overall value will depend on how well it fits within Canada’s wider workforce approach.
Energy Security

Canada’s Arctic Energy Security: Infrastructure Vulnerabilities and NATO Resilience Requirements

The Canadian Arctic has become a focal point of global strategic competition, but the region’s energy infrastructure has not kept pace. Currently, remote communities and military installations in the Arctic depend on diesel fuel delivered via seasonal ice roads or costly airlift operations. Communications networks are unreliable, and diesel power plants lacking redundancy are operating Read More…
Isabelle Zhu Women in Security

More Than Just a Woman: Exploring Peacekeeping Operations Through a Multifaceted Lens

Overlapping structural barriers, including economic inequality, racism, and social inequalities, work to limit women’s agency, reinforcing problematic assumptions around gender and reasons for women’s inclusion. Contextual considerations to peacekeeping operations (eg. geography, history, culture) as well as overlapping factors that affect women’s experiences should be accounted for when determining responsibilities/mandates. Missions could benefit from incorporating an intersectional perspective, beyond just the gendered dimension; race, class, sexuality, and other social identities have organizational, institutional, and field-level effects in the conflict resolution process.
Indo-Pacific and NATO

Border Flashpoints: What NATO Can Learn from the Thailand–Cambodia Crisis

The 2025 Thailand–Cambodia border crisis demonstrates how unresolved territorial disputes can quickly escalate when historical grievances, domestic political pressures, and weak conflict-management mechanisms converge. Nguyen Bao Han Tran examines the structural drivers of the crisis and draws broader lessons for NATO on conflict prevention, monitoring, regional diplomacy, and post-conflict stabilization.