Canada launches huge defence plan to curb reliance on US

By Marion Thibaut with Ben Simon in Toronto
Montreal (AFP) Feb 17, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday launched a multi-billion-dollar plan to strengthen the Canadian military and rely less on the United States.

Carney's announcement of Canada's first defence industrial strategy built on themes he has emphasized during his 11-month tenure as President Donald Trump rips through traditional US alliances.

The prime minister says Canada has not done nearly enough to defend itself in an increasingly dangerous world and counting on US protection is no longer viable.

"We've relied too heavily on our geography and others to protect us," Carney said.

"This has created vulnerabilities that we can no longer afford and dependencies that we can no longer sustain," he added.

Carney has become one of the most prominent global voices criticizing Trump's administration, notably after his speech at the World Economic Forum last month where he said Trump had triggered a "rupture" in the rules-based global order.

On Tuesday, Carney also addressed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech last week to the Munich Security Conference, highlighting what the Canadian leader sees as the widening gap between US and Canadian values.

Carney, addressing reporters after giving a speech on the defence plan, pivoted to Rubio's speech without being asked about it. He cautioned that Trump's top diplomat had spoken of Washington's desire to defend "Christian nationalism."

"Canadian nationalism is civic nationalism" and Ottawa's mandate was to defend the rights of everyone in a vast and diverse country, Carney said.

"There is a rivalry taking place between Canadian nationalism and other forms of nationalism," he added, speaking in French.

In Munich, Rubio said "Western Civilization" was defined by "Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices of our forefathers."

- Never be 'hostage' -

Carney's office said the defence industrial strategy amounts to an investment of "over half a trillion dollars (US$366 billion) in Canadian security, economic prosperity, and our sovereignty."

In addition to direct government defence spending of about CAN$80 billion over the next five years, the plan includes CAN$180 billion in defence procurement and CAN$290 billion in defence and security-related infrastructure through the coming decade, Carney said.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce applauded Carney for having "bet big on Canada."

"The scale of new funding is unprecedented," the group's vice president, David Pierce, said in a statement, adding that the plan will be measured by whether the funds produce "a stronger Canadian Armed Forces."

For Carney, the increasingly fragile security relationship with the United States does not mean Canada should go it alone on defence.

His government has pursued closer military ties with the European Union and, at the Munich conference, Ottawa formally joined the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program -- making Canada the only non-European member of the bloc's defence financing scheme.

The prime minister on Tuesday also talked about hopes for new defence export opportunities in Asia, notably with South Korea.

The goal is to "be strong enough to be a partner of choice," the prime minister said.

Canada should build "a domestic defense industrial base so we are never hostage to the decisions of others when it comes to our security," he said.

Carney also re-emphasized the need to enforce Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, where warming temperatures caused by climate change are thawing the ice, opening a new era of competition for critical minerals.