Our challenges are clear.
Our plan is not.
Find out why in Canada's Missing Playbook.
Canada's Missing Playbook
Why Canada Needs a Real National Defence Strategy
Part of the Rocky Mountain Conference on Security and Defence
Canada has released a steady stream of defence documents over the years — policies, priorities, visions, and white papers. Yet none has answered the most basic question: how will Canada actually defend itself?
Since 1946, no Minister of National Defence has produced an operational concept for the defence of Canada. Instead, governments have reorganized an ever-shrinking Canadian Armed Forces, promised more than procurement could deliver, and claimed enhanced combat effectiveness without defining what that means in practice.
What Canada lacks is a real playbook:
- a national security policy that sets direction;
- a grand strategy to implement it; and
- the oversight of a National Security Council to ensure coherence across government.
Without these fundamentals, Canada cannot articulate measurable objectives for defence or national security, let alone achieve them.
Join us for a timely discussion on what a true Canadian defence strategy should include, and why the need has never been greater.
Guest Speakers
Vincent Rigby
Former National Security & Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister; now Professor of Practice at McGill and Senior Fellow at CSIS.
BGen Tod Strickland, MSM, CD (Ret’d)
Former Commandant of the Canadian Forces College; operational commander and educator in Canadian military history and strategy.
Monday, 27 October 2025
1900 hours (Mountain) via Zoom
WATCH FIRST VIDEO IN THE SERIES
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Resources
FULL SPEECH | Carney pledges transformation of Canadian military to meet global 'turning points'
Our North Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence
Highlights
00:00 – Welcome and Introduction
Karen Storwick and Quentin Innis open the session and outline the theme: Canada’s need for a coherent national security and defence strategy.
03:00 – Context and Series Overview
How Canada’s Missing Playbook builds on America’s Playbook and RAUSI’s broader RMCSD Fireside Chat series.
05:40 – Opening Reflections —BGen Tod Strickland (Ret’d) followed by Vincent Rigby
Absence of a unified framework for national security and defence, noting that Canada lacks a grand strategy tying together policy, operations, and intelligence.
12:15 – Policy vs. Strategy
Clarifying the difference between defence policy documents and a true strategic playbook.
18:30 – Lessons from Allies
Comparing Canadian approaches with the integrated national strategies of the UK, Australia, and others.
25:00 – Insights from Service
Operational command, deployments, and education, and why Canada must re-examine how it defines its defence priorities.
32:40 – Leadership, Accountability, and the Role of Cabinet
Discussion of how effective national security strategy requires Cabinet-level coherence and potentially a National Security Council.
41:10 – Interests vs. Values in Strategy
Exploration of how democratic nations balance moral commitments with hard national interests — referencing ideas raised by Sir David Richards and Gen. Walt Natynczyk.
48:25 – Modern Threats and the Whole-of-Government Approach
Rigby and Strickland address cyber, disinformation, and domestic resilience as essential parts of a future playbook.
56:45 – Institutional Challenges: Procurement, People, and Culture
Discussing the state of the CAF, noting that a period of crisis can also be a moment for meaningful renewal.
1:03:20 – Engaging Canadians in National Security
Encouraging citizens, scholars, and early-career professionals to engage with defence, intelligence, and policy institutions.
1:09:00 – Question: Is strategy possible without political consensus?
Rigby discusses the need for bipartisan understanding of Canada’s national interests.
1:15:10 – Question: What role can provinces and territories play in national security?
Strickland addresses coordination beyond federal institutions and the role of the Council of the Federation.
1:21:40 – Question: How can Canada balance diplomacy and defence spending?
Both speakers examine the trade-offs between international engagement, fiscal constraints, and readiness.
1:27:00 – Question: What can individual Canadians do to contribute?
Calls for civic awareness, informed debate, and participation in policy and public service.
1:31:20 – Closing Reflections
Final thoughts on leadership, clarity of purpose, and building the next generation of national security thinkers.
Hear First-Hand Insights from Canadian Experts
Vincent Rigby is one of Canada’s foremost authorities on national security. Over more than three decades in the federal public service, he held senior roles in the Privy Council Office, Global Affairs Canada, and the Department of National Defence. His career culminated as National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, the top civilian security-intelligence post in the country.
He now serves as Professor of Practice at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy and is a Senior Advisor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His teaching, research, and public commentary focus on how Canada can build a coherent and strategic national security framework for the 21st century.
Brigadier-General Tod Strickland, MSM, CD (Retired), combines extensive command and staff experience with academic insight into military history and defence strategy. Over a distinguished 37-year career, he held leadership roles across operational, training, and headquarters domains. Most notably, he served as Commandant of the Canadian Forces College, the institution responsible for preparing senior Canadian Armed Forces officers for strategic, joint, and policy roles.
Before that appointment, his service included command, operational deployments to Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Korea, and senior roles in policy, training, and force generation. Since his retirement, he has continued to teach, publish, and lecture on Canadian military history, operational planning, and national defence strategy, applying lessons from his command and institutional leadership to the challenges Canada now faces.
The Strategic Imperative
Perspective from BGen James Cox, OMM, CD, PhD (Ret’d)
All Canadians are responsible for the security and defence of the Canada. As agents of the people, it is government's role to lead in crafting a National Security and Defence Policy outlining aspirational political goals to be pursued, national interests that motivate us, and our intent to defend Canada, all of domestically, peripherally, and abroad, with whatever it takes. Political leadership then needs to design a National Security and Defence Grand Strategy that mobilizes and engages all elements of national power (every government department has a role in the ultimate fight), identifies high-level defined and measurable strategic objectives, and outlines general priorities and broad resource allocation. Once that high framework is in place, when we know what we want to do and how we want to do it, we can start to talk about what we need to do it with, how long it will take us to do it, and who is going to do it.
Cabinet must set and oversee the policy. The National Security Council must develop and manage the grand-strategy. Designated Ministers must lead in developing, coordinating and executing their subordinate strategies derived from their legislated mandates. There are new, modern issues to be considered here. We need an honest, clear national threat assessment for public consumption. What role do provinces and territories play in a national fight? Where does the Council of the Federation fit in this framework? Government needs to do some intellectual heavy lifting up front. All Canadians need to understand and engage.
Don't Miss This Exclusive Discussion
Following a 30-minute presentation, the audience is encouraged to engage in respectful discourse through relevant questions and constructive challenges. These non-partisan discussions aim to foster thought-provoking exchanges that promote understanding, encourage diverse perspectives, and ensure all parties leave better informed on security and defence.
Photo Credit
The Rocky Mountain Conference on Security and Defence (RMCSD) is a signature initiative of the Royal Alberta United Services Institute (RAUSI).
RMCSD brings together subject matter experts and the public for non-partisan, hour-long online dialogues exploring the full spectrum of global security and defence issues. Each session begins with focused insights from our speakers, followed by open discussion and audience Q&A.
Our goal is to foster informed, thought-provoking dialogue that helps Canadians better understand the challenges and opportunities shaping today’s security environment.
Learn more about RAUSI and our mission.