Carney Launches 'Plan for a Stronger Canada': First National Security Strategy in Over 20 Years Puts Economic Security Alongside Defence

Prime Minister Mark Carney launched The Plan for a Stronger Canada in Ottawa on October 29. It is Canada's first national security strategy in over 20 years — the last overarching national security policy was the Liberal government's Securing an Open Society in 2004. The Prime Minister's Office put it bluntly: the world is becoming more dangerous and divided, the rules-based international order is eroding, and Canada faces threats ranging from cyberattacks to the weaponisation of trade deals. The line between economic security and national security, it says, has disappeared.

In one line: sovereignty is no longer just borders and armies

The plan's core argument is that the meaning of sovereignty has changed: it is no longer enough for a country to feed, fuel and defend itself. Security now also depends on the strength of the economy, the resilience of institutions and partnerships with allies. Carney said that in a rapidly changing, more dangerous and more divided world, Canada must have the capacity to defend its sovereignty, the resilience to withstand emerging threats, and the determination to shape its own future. The plan gathers the principles that have guided the government's foreign and domestic policy for the past year and a half into a single framework, with a stated vision: a Canada that controls its own destiny and is resilient under external pressure.

The five priorities

First, strengthen economic security and resilience: transform strategic industries with historic investments, secure supply chains, maximise energy security and invest in Canadian innovation, positioning Canada as a global leader across critical industries. Second, pursue a disciplined foreign policy: deepen cooperation with likeminded partners across the full range of strategic capabilities, diversifying trade and partnerships rather than staking security on any single country. Third, rebuild and strengthen the Canadian Armed Forces: change how defence is funded, accelerate procurement, deliver the Defence Industrial Strategy through the Defence Investment Agency, strengthen Arctic security and meet NORAD and NATO targets. Fourth, protect Canadians and strengthen public safety: work with all levels of government, Indigenous Peoples and Northern communities to counter foreign interference, espionage, violent extremism and transnational organised crime, including sabotage, extortion, fraud, online exploitation, financial crime, money laundering and sanctions evasion. Fifth, modernise intelligence: strengthen sovereign intelligence capabilities, deepen and diversify intelligence partnerships, and update authorities to reflect evolving threats and technologies while safeguarding Canadians' rights.

Concrete commitments already on the record

The plan comes with several commitments that can be checked later. The Prime Minister will convene a First Ministers' Meeting on national security to strengthen coordination among federal, provincial and territorial governments. Budget 2025 included $10.9 billion over five years to upgrade digital infrastructure across the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Communications Security Establishment Canada, to bolster cyber defence. Within the first year of the plan, the federal government will bring forward proposals to modernise national security legislation; after that, the plan will be updated at least every four years.

What to watch next

A strategy is ultimately judged by execution. Defence Minister David McGuinty, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree each stressed investment in the military, intelligence, economic security, critical infrastructure and partnerships — but the launch did not come with a full spending breakdown, so the real test will be whether budgets, legislation and procurement follow. The plan's emphasis on strategic autonomy and diversified partnerships also means Canada's positioning with traditional allies, above all the United States, will stay in focus: autonomy is not estrangement, but how Ottawa balances the two will determine whether this strategy is a slogan or a shift.