Canadian Defence Minister on Indo-Pacific Strategy

Summary

Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty discusses Canada’s deepening Indo-Pacific defense engagement, a historic joint trade-defense mission to Japan, and plans for more warship deployments. He highlights Canada achieving the 2% GDP defense spending target five years early, a new defense industrial strategy, and a path toward a 3.5% fund. The interview also covers Canada’s interest in the GCAP fighter program, a proposed multilateral defense bank, and cautious recalibration of relations with China.

• Canada reaches 2% of GDP on defense spending five years ahead of schedule, with plans to move toward 3.5%.
• A new defense industrial strategy is investing heavily in Canadian defense companies.
• Canada is sending more warships to the Indo-Pacific for port calls and exercises in Japan, Korea and the Philippines.
• Canada is exploring procurement from Japan after Japan lifted most military export restrictions, and Japan may also procure from Canada.
• Canada expressed interest in and is monitoring the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) between Japan, Italy and the UK.
• A Defense and Security Resilience Bank, modeled on the World Bank, is being proposed to provide capital to defense SMEs globally.
• Canada is recalibrating its relationship with China while pursuing deeper defense ties with like-minded Indo-Pacific partners.