Defence is moving rapidly toward the centre of Canada’s economic debate. Spending is rising. Procurement is accelerating. Arctic sovereignty has acquired new urgency. And defence policy is increasingly being asked to do much more than equip a military: build industry, generate innovation, strengthen supply chains and preserve Canada’s ability to act in a more uncertain world. 

But what exactly are we buying when we spend on security? 

In this special two-part episode, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Philippe Lagassé and David Perry to examine the economics and institutions underneath Canada’s defence build-up. With Lagassé, the conversation explores preparedness, sovereignty, alliances and the tension between moving faster and maintaining democratic accountability. With Perry, it follows the money into procurement, firms, workers, intellectual property, industrial capacity and the difficult translation of spending into usable military capability. 

Business Data Lab research helps ground the scale of the challenge. Canada’s core defence industry comprises just 538 firms, with the largest 50 accounting for roughly 80% of industry sales. The opportunity created by sustained investment is significant. So are the constraints. 

Across both conversations, a deeper problem emerges. Spending is not capability. Domestic production is not necessarily domestic control. Interdependence is not necessarily vulnerability. Economic activity is not necessarily productivity. And strategic necessity does not make scarcity disappear. 

Because the harder question is not simply how much Canada should spend. It is what those resources are meant to produce, what Canada needs to retain for itself, and what happens when military capability, economic ambition and fiscal reality stop neatly aligning.

This episode was researched and editorially directed by host and executive producer Marwa Abdou, and brought to life in close collaboration with producer Nick Nikitaras, who led its creative direction and editing.

Links:
– Philippe Lagassé, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs
– David Perry, President Canadian Global Affairs Institute   
– Defence Deconstructed, Canadian Global Affairs Institute
– Philippe Lagassé, “Defence Policy and Procurement Costs: The Case for Pessimism Bias,” in Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice, Volume 2 Springer Nature
– David Perry, “The Defence Budget,” in Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice, Volume 2 Springer Nature
– BDL Report: Deepening Our Defence
– Government of Canada, Our North, Strong and Free
– Government of Canada, Defence Industrial Strategy
– NATO defence expenditure data