Fortune’s Wheel: defence spending impermanence

Defence spending has tended to surge in reaction to a crisis and fade just as quickly when optimism returns.

Defence Minister David McGuinty. When institutions mistake activity for advancement, they often expend enormous energy without building durable capability, writes Dan Doran.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY DAN A. DORAN

February 25, 2026

Canada finds itself in a peculiar position. After decades of restricted defence spending, the most-recent budget signals a renewed commitment to modernizing the Canadian Armed Forces. In public discourse, defence appears to be rising on the Wheel of Fortune.

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