Time for Canada to consider its own nuclear deterrent

Without the reliable umbrella of U.S. nuclear deterrence, anything else Canada spends on updating and expanding the Canadian Armed Forces will sadly be moot in the face of future aggression from nuclear adversaries like Russia, China or even possibly India.

In 1958, John Diefenbaker's government deployed Bomarc missiles in the Canadian North. They were supposed to be nuclear-armed, but Diefenbaker refused splitting his cabinet and souring relations with the United States. Dief lost in 1963 and the Cuban Missile Crisis revived the nuclear debate, writes Jamie Carroll. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Opinion

BY JAMIE CARROLL

March 10, 2025

Well, this is something I never expected to say: I think it’s time for Canada to consider its own nuclear deterrent.

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