Shaping the future of Canada’s Army

Continued U.S. rhetoric about annexing Canada and recent military actions in Venezuela and Iran have forced Canada to reassess its security posture, heard participants of the Canadian Landpower Conference, hosted on March 27 by the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS).

“For decades, we optimized our force for coalition contributions, assuming that others would provide enablers, that we determined that we didn't need or that we couldn't afford. Those assumptions no longer hold, and our allies face the same pressures that we do,” said Lieutenant-General Michael Wright in his keynote presentation.

In its Inflection Point 2025 publication, the Canadian Army made the observation that, “the Army we have is not the Army we need.” 

The Power Series

Canadian Landpower is the latest in CMSS' Power Series that has featured presentations from distinguished military leaders, both serving and retired. This year’s event drew a substantial contingent of uniformed members of the Canadian Armed Forces, underscoring the conference’s relevance and the high regard in which it is held. Previous conferences in the series have addressed topics such as cyber threats, Seapower and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“The fact that we’ve had the head of the Army; the vice-head of the Air Force, now the head of the Air Force; the head of the Navy; and the head of the Coast Guard come, speaks to the confidence and respect that they have for the events that we are putting on,” says Dr. Rob Huebert, PhD, director of CMSS.

Focused on security issues since the Cold War, CMSS has remained committed to this work, even during periods when such threats seemed to have disappeared. The Power Series was started to facilitate necessary discussions around Canada’s security and bring these discussions to a wider audience. 

In his keynote, Wright went on to share some of the upcoming organizational changes happening within the Canadian Army, and how these changes will help to create the “Army we need.”

CMSS has earned national reputation for excellence

The Canadian Landpower Conference underscored both the interdisciplinary excellence and the national reputation CMSS has earned in the study of Canadian security. 

“It drives home the fact that we have people from all over the university, engineering and other faculties, who are doing this work, as well. And I think that speaks to our dedication to understanding Canadian security, not just from a policy perspective, but also from the scientific side,” says Huebert.

As for what’s next, Huebert says that planning has already started for the Seapower International and Landpower follow-up conferences slated for the years ahead. In the meantime, the Canadian Landpower Conference report will be available on the CMSS website in the coming weeks.