While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Philippe Lagassé.
How many defence ministers does Canada have? This isn’t a trick question. I’m genuinely curious given how many members of Cabinet are staking a claim to part of the defence portfolio. The reason I’m asking is that Mélanie Joly, the industry minister, has been talking quite a bit (ok, like a lot) about defence issues in recent months, which is...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has an ambitious policy agenda, and for good reason. Carney won the election by stressing that Canada’s relationship with the United States has been fundamentally transformed by President Trump’s return to White House. That ambitious policy agenda follows from a simple premise: we are in a new world, one where Canada will need to be far...
Canadian civil-military relations may be headed for a rough ride. President Donald Trump is creating a rift among Canadian political leaders, the public, and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). At issue is whether the CAF should remain closely tied to the United States military and wedded to American capabilities, given Trump’s aggressive rhetoric toward Canada, his overtures toward Russia, and...
There should be no denying that, for Canada and for our allies, we have a unique chance to diversify and expand our economic and security relationships that will be of mutual benefit.
Mark Carney is the Prime Minister of Canada. He held this office despite not having had a seat in Parliament prior to the general election, and he still holds the office during it. He does not hold the office and the title during some events and not during others based on a temporary, election-period, church-and-state distinction between political and executive...
Canada is finally saying the right things about meeting NATO’s defence-spending target of 2 per cent of GDP by 2032. Defence Minister Bill Blair has even indicated that he’s prepared to reach the target sooner. But no new defence spending was included in the Liberals’ fall economic statement, which casts serious doubt on Ottawa’s sense of urgency. Donald Trump’s re-election...
The shocking report released by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) last week is the stuff of democratic nightmares. In brief, the committee reported that when it comes to foreign interference, the call is coming from inside the houses: several parliamentarians may be working with foreign governments in ways that undermine Canada’s national security and democratic institutions...
Canada is promising to pump billions into the military. The Liberal government’s new defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, expects Canadian defence spending to reach 1.76 per cent of GDP in 2029-2030. Over the next five years, the policy lays out approximately $10-billion in new spending, on a cash basis; looking out 2...
Building warships is an expensive business, especially if you’re getting back into it after a few decades. Take the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC). Fifteen CSCs will be built at Halifax’s Irving Shipbuilding to replace Canada’s current frigates and decommissioned destroyers. According to a 2022 study by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), the CSC acquisition will cost $80.2 billion. Given that...