New Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is ready to embrace homegrown defense technologies amid a shift in its relationship with the United States.
“The system of open global trade anchored by the United States – a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for our country for decades – is over,” he told supporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, a day after his Liberal Party won the federal elections.
Throughout his campaign against Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, Carney emphasized the need for the nation to shift its defense spending habits away from U.S.-built equipment. His party also promised to buy Canadian, including Canadian raw materials, “whenever possible.”
Besides overhauling its procurement practices, Canadian Liberals floated the idea of opening a new defense procurement office during the campaign season. The group also expressed the possibility of Canada joining the European nations’ initiative to build their defense capabilities.