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National security strategy to address array of threats coming soon: Carney adviser

  • Jim Bronskill

  • Canadian Press

  • October 23, 2026

David Morrison appears as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa on Thursday, April 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA -- The Liberals are poised to release a new national security strategy for the first time in more than two decades, says a senior federal adviser.

David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser to Prime Minister Mark Carney, says the strategy will look to bolster Canada's defences against an array of security threats.

"In an increasingly tumultuous world, all risks have gone up," Morrison told MPs on the House of Commons public safety and national security committee earlier this week.

Morrison added in French he hopes the new strategy will be public within a week or two.

The coming strategy "will have a whole-of-society focus, informed by voices within and outside government, and increase Canada’s focus on economic security," said Privy Council Office spokesperson Mélany Gauvin.

"It will chart how Canada will enhance its own strategic autonomy to advance its national interests."

The strategy is expected to address long-standing concerns including espionage, terrorism and foreign interference, as well as Canada's ability to safeguard its economy in a fractious world of shifting alliances and trade patterns.

In 2004, the Liberal government led by Paul Martin released Securing an Open Society, the most recent overarching national security policy.

Two years ago, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister at the time, directed officials to deliver a renewed national security strategy in 2025.

He said it should set out an integrated framework for Canada's national security, defence and diplomatic posture, "leveraging engagement with Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast."

Trudeau also said the new strategy should be reviewed every four years to ensure it remains current and responsive.

Efforts to come up with a revamped national security strategy hit a snag early last year when it became clear many of the assumptions underlying the work were "no longer valid," according to an internal federal memo prepared in March 2025.

John Hannaford, the Privy Council clerk at the time, told Carney in the memo that "changes to Canada's strategic environment" meant work on a draft of the document was based on outdated premises.

Just days earlier, Carney had won the Liberal leadership against a backdrop of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and President Donald Trump's repeated threats to make Canada a U.S. state.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.

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