Canada's deep supply chain ties are likely to see a deepening of US defence integration in spite of a strain in diplomatic relations between Canada and the United States. A new report from the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney analyses pathways forward and offers an insightful comparison for Australia.
In Canada and the National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB), Canadian Global Affairs Institute Post-doctoral Fellow Dr Alexander Salt and President and CEO Dr David Perry argue that Canada is better placed to channel efforts towards modernisation and increased NTIB oversight to facilitate defence integration rather than seeking to diversify away from the United States.
“Canada’s defence relationship with the United States is long and deep and, in spite of current tensions, it makes as much sense to better optimise that longstanding relationship through the US NTIB as it does to pursue alternative partnerships,” USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee notes, adding, "This case study is particularly important for Australia as they navigate their own defence relationship with the United States."
The report finds that challenges straining bilateral coordination — including in the political realm as well as in defence budgets — are significant, but the deteriorating international security environment necessitates further defence integration with the United States to strengthen Canada’s own position. To improve defence integration, the report recommends changes to NTIB oversight, investment in flagship projects like the Golden Dome and identifying mutually beneficial investments.
“Flagship projects like President Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ initiative could offer mutually beneficial opportunities for US allies like Canada and Australia,” Dr Lee commented. “The political momentum behind those sorts of projects can be harnessed in the service of the broader defence industrial integration objectives that both allies have with Washington.”
Canada and the National Technology and Industrial Base is now available to view or download.
This is the final report in the National Technology and Industrial Base series. Read the others:
- United States | The once and future US National Technology and Industrial Base: An American Perspective – Dr William Greenwalt, Senior Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute
- Australia | From framework to force multiplier: Rethinking the NTIB for a new strategic era – Jacqueline Borsboom, Former Minister Counsellor for Defence Policy at the Embassy of Australia in the United States
- United Kingdom | Deepening Britain’s integration into the American National Technology and Industrial Base – Sophia Gaston, Research Fellow with the Centre for Statecraft and National Security King's College London
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