Canada's Defence Plan Has a Decade-Long Head Start Problem

Canada missile defence has officially moved from background concern to stated priority. The Chief of Defence Staff named Russian missile technology as the country's biggest threat, and Richard Shimooka, military expert and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, breaks down what that actually means for a country with more Arctic territory to defend than budget to defend it with.

Russia spent years testing long-range cruise missiles in Syria and Ukraine before turning that capability into a credible threat against North America. North Korea and Iran are developing similar systems. The response Canada has underway includes an over-the-horizon radar contract just signed with an Australian company and a NORAD modernization plan that traces back to 2022, but the fighter jet decision that should have anchored all of it is roughly a decade behind allies who committed to the F-35 years ago.

Shimooka lays out exactly where the plan is solid and where a few specific choices, like a mismatched airborne early warning system, could undo the progress.

Topics: Canada missile defense, NORAD modernization, Arctic defence Canada, F-35 fighter jets, continental defence

GUEST: Richard Shimooka

Originally aired on 2026-06-29

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