Modernizing national defence without losing mission focus
How can the Canadian Armed Forces sustain readiness and operational relevance while transforming for the future?
Canada is increasing investment in defence and security. But what must the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) prioritize to ensure this surge in funding delivers lasting capability, resilience, and strategic advantage?
Key takeaways:
Ensure DND/CAF modernized, relevant, and ready
Canada must adopt a threat-informed force development approach supported by agile acquisition, and long-term sustainment that enables continuous capability improvements over time. That means building the capability to integrate relevant innovation rapidly while deliberately accounting for the training, processes, and change management required.
It is tempting to begin with an inventory of what the DND and the CAF currently possess. Then identify capability gaps and determine what to procure next. However, this approach is linear and slow; creating vulnerabilities in a rapidly evolving threat environment.
Recent decades of conflict have consistently demonstrated that forces able to innovate and implement changes in tight operational cycles are more successful. Adaptability, not static advantage, determines success.
Why this matters
Strategic advantage cannot be created by government direction alone, nor by industry innovation in isolation. It requires aligned priorities and procurement, that together inform industrial systems that are able to deliver at pace. Government must provide clear demand signals and agile pathways. Industry must invest, scale, and partner for the long term.
When policy, procurement, innovation, and operational feedback are synchronized, Canada is better positioned to sustain readiness and credible deterrence.
Four factors to consider
Your next moves
Align on a shared, threat-informed roadmap
Convene senior leaders across government and industry at regular intervals to establish a clear, threat-driven set of capability priorities for the following 24–36 months. Translate strategic intent into sequenced investments, defined outcomes, and measurable timelines. This won’t work unless everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Accelerate from concept to fielded capability
Stand up rapid acquisition pathways that move emerging technologies from pilot to operational deployment in tight cycles. Empower integrated teams to test, iterate, and scale solutions quickly. Accept informed risk in exchange for speed, and build feedback loops that allow capabilities to evolve after fielding. It very important to iterate and improve capabilities throughout their life cycle, to ensure they are ready and relevant for combat.
Invest in integration, not just acquisition
Prioritize the training, doctrine, sustainment, and change management required to embed new capabilities securely and effectively. Fund lifecycle support and continuous improvement from the outset. Make operational adoption the true measure of success.
Taken together, these actions shift the focus from buying platforms to building and sustaining enduring advantage.
Michael Ward
