Look to C.D. Howe for lessons on defence procurement

The Second World War-era cabinet minister created a crown corporation tasked with building everything from ammunition to warships. They got them built. Period.

On May 27, 1941, C.D. Howe, who was then the munitions and supply minister under William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal government, spoke on CBC Radio on the occasion of the completion of the first Canadian-built tank, the Cruiser Tank, at Angus Shops, Montreal Locomotive Works.Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Opinion

BY JAMIE CARROLL

September 1, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney is making big promises on defence investment both in terms of what Canada will spend and how. The gap between those objectives and the practical realities of delivering on them could be an insurmountable chasm if the government does not radically c...

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