Defence Mandate Letter

Dear Minister,

Canadians have given us a clear mandate: to grow our economy, strengthen our sovereignty and build a country that works for everyone. They are ready to build Canada. Now, we must deliver. 

Our path forward is ambitious – and it must be. Global instability, and the accelerating pace of technological changes are testing our resilience. But Canadians are not afraid of hard work, nor are they afraid to take risks. They believe in fairness, in unity, and in building an abundant future for all Canadians. This government must match their resolve with urgency, discipline, and ambition.

I expect all Ministers to remain focused on their core mandate. Every ministry has clear goals focused on delivering better services and driving economic growth, while doing both with the efficiency and excellence Canadians deserve. That means setting clear goals, with measurable outcomes, and being relentless in execution. 

I expect Ministers to fulfill their mandates at a pace this country has not seen in recent history. Canadians expect and deserve change. It is the responsibility of our entire government to remove any roadblocks quickly and ensure the smooth and fast implementation of our priorities.

I expect you to do this by recruiting top talent, adopting best practices from around the world, and leveraging modern tools wherever possible, including artificial intelligence. Above all we must be ruthlessly pragmatic. If our policies are not achieving the results that Canadians deserve then we must change direction to achieve our goals. Through this, we can build a more modern government that delivers better results more efficiently. 

As Minister of National Defence, your task is to rebuild Canada’s military strength and modernize our national security. Our Armed Forces are understaffed, under-equipped, and unprepared for the geopolitical threats we face – from a belligerent Russia, to instability in the Arctic, to uncertainty in our alliances. Only half of our military equipment is deployable, recruitment is falling short, and outdated procurement systems mean it takes over a decade to buy what we need.

Canadians expect to live in a country that can defend itself and uphold its commitments. Canada must once again be a respected, ready, and resilient force that protects our sovereignty and contributes to global stability. We will do this by rebuilding the Canadian Armed forces, modernizing our equipment and procurement processes, and investing in Canadian defence innovation.

To do so will mean that Canada must meet its NATO defence commitment of 2% spend of GDP by the end of 2029. How we spend this money is key. Currently only 18% of our defence expenditure goes towards modernizing equipment and R&D – we need to increase this to 25% to be in line with our peers. 

To meet our goals, you will:

• Rebuild the Canadian Armed Forces
  
  • Increase pay for CAF members by 10%
  • Increase stock of housing on bases to reduce waitlist by 75% and increase access to primary child care and health care benefits so that 100% of families with children under 12 have coverage
  • Modernize recruitment by streamlining security clearances and expanding online and fast-track applications increase recruitment rate from less than 10% to 20%
  • Implement 100% of external recommendations to eliminate sexual misconduct in the military
  • Expand the Canadian Rangers and Reserves with new investments in equipment and disaster response training, ensuring 100% PPE and small arms parity with CAF regular forces
• Rearm and modernize military equipment
  
  • Accelerate procurement of new submarines, icebreakers, drones, and early warning aircraft to reduce procurement cycle times by 30% from 16 years to 11.
  • Support the Army with new investments in artillery and air defence systems
  • Update the Coast Guard’s mandate to include maritime surveillance and integrate them into Canada’s NATO defence capabilities
• Reinvest in Canadian defence innovation
  
  • Establish the BOREALIS agency to invest in AI, quantum, cyber, and other advanced defence research, with $1B in R&D funding deployed by 2029.
  • Create a new Defence Procurement Agency to centralize expertise, simplify legislation, and reduce approval delays by 50%
  • Prioritize Canadian-made equipment and critical minerals, awarding 50% of new contracts to Canadian manufacturers
  • Boost Canada’s domestic defence industries, growing Canadian defence exports by 50% over five years
• Secure Arctic sovereignty
  
  • Deliver early-warning systems and Arctic surveillance, to achieve continuous coverage of Arctic territory and coastline
  • Establish Canada-Europe Arctic security cooperation agreement, signed by 2026 with at least 3 European allies

We all know that our country could be so much more than it is. We have the land, the talent, the know-how, and the energy to be the most prosperous nation on earth. And our people have a spirit that could take them anywhere they want to go.

Now let’s build it.

Signed,

Prime Minister

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Note: Italicized figures are added by Build Canada

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