Canadian Ad Hoc Defence of the Arctic in the Early 1920s – Guest Post by Trevor Ford

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Canadian Ad Hoc Defence of the Arctic in the Early 1920s – Guest Post by Trevor Ford

In August of 2013, Canadians become aware that the Canadian military had been secretly building and testing a stealth snowmobile in the Canadian Arctic. Named Loki, after the mythological shape-shifting Norse god, the snowmobile has been in testing for some time with over $620,000 spent on its development to date. This has led many critics to question what they believe is an exorbitant cost.  However, government officials have pointed out that the research was part of a larger plan to increase Canada’s military presence in the Arctic, which includes the placement of ships, troops, and armed bases throughout Canada’s North.

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A Brief Assessment of Canada’s National Defence Expenditure

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In the wake of recent attacks in Quebec and Ottawa that saw the unfortunate and horrifying death of two Canadian soldiers, Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, the Harper government seems poised to introduce new legislation that will strengthen the powers to its intelligence agency. The government tabled Bill C-44 this week which is intended to expand the powers and functioning capabilities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and now in Canada speculations abound as to the particulars of this legislation and its overall impact on the nation’s domestic and international security measures.

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'Buying a Seat at the Table': Canadian Defence Policy in Reaction to ISIS

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As pressure mounts on the United States and its allies to take strategic action against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, commonly known as ISIS, Canada’s financial contribution (or lack thereof) to Western democratic defence is taking severe heat in political forums and the media. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged further action in support of growing international efforts to combat ISIS and the persistent threat of Islamic extremism in the Middle East. Harper’s promise came this week while speaking with other world leaders in London, England in response to the horrific execution of a second US freelance journalist, Steven Sotloff. Calls for an increase in Canada’s financial contribution to Western defence are reportedly growing stronger from within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), putting the nation in an awkward and touchy situation. In today’s post we briefly examine the economics of Canada’s post-1945 defence policy, to provide a historical perspective to this most recent predicament.

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