The Cohere deal wasn’t the only big play the feds made for Canadian sovereignty yesterday. Say hello to the Plan for a Stronger Canada.
What happened: Ottawa unveiled a new national security strategy for Canada, its first since 2004. Called the Plan for a Stronger Canada (we love a name that gets straight to the point), it will act as a framework to shepherd the development of new national policies focused on five areas: defence, foreign affairs, economic security, public safety, and intelligence.
Zoom in: The 13-page document is setting the stage for more detailed plans. As is, it’s pretty light on specific details and mentions several plans and policies that are already in motion, like establishing a new financial crimes agency and the Buy Canadian Policy. However, there are a few interesting potential new initiatives regarding intelligence.
The plan calls for expanding intelligence collection and analysis, bolstering capabilities of Canada’s spy agencies, and boosting contributions to Five Eyes.
However, the feds clarified at a press hearing that this did not mean establishing a new agency that spies on other countries à la the CIA or MI6 (at least not right now).
Why it matters: The plan is a reaffirmation of both the moves the feds have been making all year to shore up sovereignty and Mark Carney’s Davos speech that kicked off the year by declaring the world order as we know it was dead. With a commitment to renew the strategy every four years, this could be the blueprint for navigating an uncertain security future.—QH
