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Saturday, October 10, 2026
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Defence & Security

Wait grows for formal plan underpinning a new Canadian foreign policy 

Legitimacy and trust of Canadians in the country’s foreign policy is at the centre of the need to release a plan, say observers.

news | BY NEIL MOSS | September 23, 2026

Why startups, SMEs, universities, and incubators must sit at the centre of Canada’s defence innovation strategy

Large firms remain important, but they must sit alongside a dense ecosystem of agile domestic companies that solve niche technical problems, and scale into trusted suppliers at home and abroad.

opinion | BY AARON JOHNSON | September 23, 2026
David McGuinty

‘Canada is moving forward’ says defence minister, as feds partner with ‘trusted allies’ amid U.S. trade tensions

Defence Minister David McGuinty did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump or the United States in his speech to defence manufacturers in Ottawa, but later told reporters that Canada has a ‘productive’ relationship with the U.S. and that it will continue.

news | BY IREM KOCA | September 22, 2026

Time to tighten military ties with Europe

If the prime minister is serious, we should base one of the Army’s new divisions in a central European country on a permanent basis.

opinion | BY SCOTT TAYLOR | September 21, 2026

Scrapping Cowansville prison’s education program short-sighted 

The decision to scrap the CÉGEP program is wrongheaded. Many prisoners say higher learning changed the way they saw society, and helped them understand how to contribute after serving their sentences, writes Senator Bernadette Clement.

opinion | BY ISG SENATOR BERNADETTE CLEMENT | September 21, 2026

Canada’s Armed Forces have to jump on the Buy-Canadian plane

For Canada—and the CAF—to survive the current trade war, doing the same old thing with the same old U.S. firms just isn’t cricket. And if senior officers don’t understand that is part of their duty to all Canadians, well, enjoy the lecture circuit.

opinion | BY JAMIE CARROLL | September 21, 2026

We must put aside differences and work together

We have the opportunity and the urgent need to work together to solve problems: by volunteering, sharing, participating in our democracy, supporting the environment, building our economy through the value and impact of volunteer service. We must put aside differences and work together. 

opinion | BY ROSEANN O’REILLY RUNTE | September 21, 2026

Canada and Ukraine now have a drone deal, but it’s only going to work if we get the basic stuff right

Ukraine’s experience, earned at a terrible cost, will allow us to cut right to the front of the line in a vital new realm of military conflict. But this is only going to work if we get the basic stuff right.

opinion | BY MATT GURNEY | September 21, 2026

Thousands rely on tariff supports as Ottawa plans fewer benefit-processing staff at Service Canada

Work-Sharing applications are taking an average of six business days to process, while frontline workers and unions warn that maintaining service levels will depend on staffing capacity.

news | BY MZWANDILE PONCANA | September 20, 2026

Space war and other distractions

The Americans bragged they’ve launched ‘space-control weapons.’ While high ground has always been an advantage in land warfare, that is not necessarily the same for space, which lacks key targets.

opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 17, 2026

What’s Canada’s role as Ukraine redounds to victory?

Canada can help by continuing to demonstrate solid and unwavering support for Ukraine, and by working much harder with our allies to build on Ukraine’s battlefield successes.

opinion | BY STAN KUTCHER | September 17, 2026

It’s time to start talking tough

The fact that we have grown collectively numb to Donald Trump’s unpresidential antics should not excuse inaction on the part of our elected leaders.

opinion | BY SCOTT TAYLOR | September 14, 2026

Canada’s enemies have evolved, but our national security culture has not

The lesson of 9/11 was not merely that terrorism could reach North America. It was that complacency carries a cost. Twenty-five years later, Canada faces a wider array of threats, from jihadi terrorism and foreign interference to transnational repression and state-sponsored violence. Yet, we still lack the national-security culture needed to confront them.

opinion | BY PHIL GURSKI | September 10, 2026

German builder trumpets ‘Arctic-proven’ subs, but questions loom about ‘under-ice’ ability 

In 2024, Canada announced that it would procure a submarine fleet with ‘under-ice’ capabilities, but Arctic experts say they believe the vessels will actually be operating in the near-ice or ice-edge waters.

news | BY NEIL MOSS | September 9, 2026

Five years in the cold: Afghan envoy says ‘moral obligation’ keeps embassy open half decade after Taliban takeover

With the number of Afghan missions of the former government dwindling, its Canadian embassy—with no ties to Afghanistan’s current Taliban-led regime—hangs on.

news | BY NEIL MOSS | September 9, 2026

‘We need to be aware and get more aggressive’: Trump’s desire for Canada’s water runs deep, says AquaAction president

The U.S. president is not only trying to claim the name of Lake Ontario for America, but also ‘most of the lake’s volume,’ which should spur Canada to ‘step up’ on its national water strategy, say experts.

news | BY STUART BENSON | September 9, 2026

For veterans, changing the narrative on suicide starts with changing our idea of strength

Part of that change means challenging the idea that resilience is measured by how much someone can carry on their own.

opinion | BY FARDOUS HOSSEINY | September 9, 2026

‘Unprecedented’ speed of procurement still complicated by bureaucracy, say observers as DIA head reportedly eyes exit

‘You can only bypass [the bureaucracy] so much. You need to change the way it works if you really want to make really substantial reform,’ says David Perry.

news | BY IREM KOCA | September 8, 2026

Canadians standing on guard against more U.S. threats and insults

With ingratitude of this magnitude, is it any wonder that no NATO ally has chosen to join in on the American ‘excursion’ in Iran?

opinion | BY SCOTT TAYLOR | September 7, 2026

Union decries recurring mould, moisture concerns at DND’s Carling Campus

The union representing National Defence staff says mould remediation has either taken place or is underway in three buildings, and calls for a campus-wide assessment of humidity, moisture, and indoor-air-quality problems dating back to at least 2018.

news | BY MZWANDILE PONCANA | September 7, 2026

Let’s expand, not reduce, Canadian peacekeeping

For many reasons, DND’s plan to remove Canadian peacekeepers is short-sighted and counterproductive. In the current political climate, now is the time to expand UN peacekeeping globally and Canada should champion that resurgence.

opinion | BY WALTER DORN, ROBIN COLLINS | September 7, 2026

Southern status quo is ‘problematic’ for northern projects beset by delays and cost overruns, say report, procurement experts

There’s ‘inherent risk’ in operating in the North, and the fixed-price contracting approach favoured by the feds ‘tries to pretend that that risk isn’t there,’ says adviser Jake Kennedy.

news | BY IREM KOCA | September 3, 2026
Rebecca Chartrand

Canada can’t secure its borders with yesterday’s tools

Despite advances in technology and intelligence, border security still relies heavily on more officers, inspections and physical infrastructure. Those investments cannot keep pace with the complexity of modern trade.

opinion | BY COLIN SARAVANAMUTTOO, SHELDON JORDAN | September 2, 2026

U.S. remains top foreign supplier to Canada with $253-million secured in federal contracts in 2026 so far

It ‘is a bit of a political problem’ for the government to try to reconcile its Buy Canadian policy and the existing relationship with the Americans, says former defence minister Peter MacKay.

news | BY IREM KOCA | September 2, 2026

Our most potent weapon in the trade war with the U.S.

Let’s truly stop buying weapon systems from the one and only country that repeatedly threatens us with annexation.

opinion | BY SCOTT TAYLOR | September 2, 2026