Nancy's Notes

Canada is not the same country it was even a few short years ago. The world has shifted, alliances are being tested, and the comfortable assumptions we once lived under are fading faster than many expected. Today’s announcement of Canada’s new Defence Industrial Strategy is not simply about military spending or procurement. It is about sovereignty, resilience, and understanding that defence is not just a cost of nationhood, it is part of its foundation.

For most of my life, ‘defence’ was something Canadians rarely discussed. We spoke proudly about peacekeeping, diplomacy, and cooperation, but not about readiness, industrial strength, or whether the people wearing our flag on their shoulder had what they actually needed. That silence is ending, and it should.

Much of today’s public conversation gravitates toward what is visible and dramatic. Fighter jets capture imagination. The F-35 versus Gripen debate feels strategic, consequential, even exciting. But a military is not built on aircraft alone. It is built on systems that work, equipment that functions, and the quiet reliability of tools that must perform when everything else fails. A howitzer may not sound impressive. A serviced vehicle does not trend online. Functional communications do not make headlines. Yet these are the bones of readiness, and without them, nothing else matters.

For too long, too much of our equipment has simply aged. Ships, vehicles, bases, aircraft, and even the tools used by our reserves, some dating back generations, have been stretched beyond what should ever have been acceptable. Serviceability is not jargon. It is the difference between preparedness and vulnerability. When Canadians serve, whether at home, in Latvia, in the Arctic, or alongside NATO partners, they deserve equipment that works every time, not just eventually.

I often speak about aviation because it is part of my family’s story, but our connection to service has never been only about airplanes. In my family, there have been soldiers, artillery, pilots, water specialists (engineering corps) and others who served in ways that were not always visible but always essential. That lens shapes how I see this moment. A military is defined not by its most glamorous equipment, but by the strength of every piece working together.

This is why the philosophical shift matters. Canada is no longer focused solely on buying defence equipment. It is speaking about building it, sustaining it, and controlling it. Investing in Canadian industry is not isolation. It is sovereignty. A country that cannot maintain or produce the tools of its own defence slowly becomes dependent, and in today’s world, dependence carries consequences.

But sovereignty does not mean standing alone. The opposite is true. The phrase today that echoes most clearly through the press release and speech is simple but powerful: “like-minded allies.” In a world where the rules-based order is weakening and global instability is rising, who we stand with matters. Canada builds where we are strong, partners where collaboration strengthens us, and buys where necessary, always ensuring Canadian control and Canadian benefit. Strength at home, strength with allies. Both are required now.

That reality is especially true in the North. Canada’s Arctic is no longer a distant, quiet expanse on a map. It is strategic, contested, and central to our future security. Building real Arctic capability means thinking differently about mobility, surveillance, infrastructure, and sustainment in one of the most demanding environments on earth. It means readiness that reflects geography, climate, and the world as it is now.

When I supported Mark Carney last April, it was because the global environment was shifting quickly and Canada needed steady, serious leadership. What none of us could fully predict was just how turbulent that environment would become, nor how clearly Canada would begin repositioning itself within it. No leader delivers everything. No strategy solves every problem. But clarity, discipline, and purpose matter. Not reaction. Preparation.

This strategy is about more than defence. It is about confidence. It is about jobs, industry, innovation, and the realization that Canada can still build, still lead, and still stand firmly on its own feet while standing shoulder to shoulder with trusted partners. Defence capability and economic strength are not separate conversations. They are the same conversation.

Yes, fighter jets matter. Modern aircraft matter. But so do artillery systems, cyber capability, logistics, shipbuilding, space, and the steady rebuilding of readiness across the board. Real security is built piece by piece, system by system, decision by decision, alongside those who share our values and our resolve.

And here is the truth that now sits quietly beneath all of it.

Canada has woken up.

We no longer assume the world will remain stable. We no longer assume others will carry the burden. We are rebuilding readiness, strengthening sovereignty, and turning our attention north, where the Arctic is no longer just a frontier, but a defining responsibility. The realities of the North demand different thinking, different equipment, and preparedness that reflects the world as it is, not as it once was.

In my own life, when I choose the people I trust, the people I stand beside, they do not have to think exactly like me. They may challenge me, question me, even disagree with me. But they must share something deeper. Values, stability and reliability. A sense that when the moment comes, they will stand, not waver.

Nations are no different.

Canada will stand strong, build at home, defend its North, and move forward with “like-minded allies.”

And this time our beloved Canada is wide awake.