Canada Strong? Unpacking the Significance of Budget 2025

Canada's parliament has narrowly approved Prime Minister Mark Carney's first federal budget, allowing his minority Liberal government to avert an early election.The 2025 federal budget commits an additional $81.8 billion over five years to strengthen Canada’s defence capabilities, with a focus on modernizing military equipment, expanding digital infrastructure, and sustaining current defence assets. It sets a clear trajectory to meet NATO's 2% GDP target by the end of this year and aims for 3.5% of GDP on core military needs by 2035, ensuring strategic investments across personnel, infrastructure, and technology.Dr. Philippe Lagassé  joined the Expert Series to discuss the significance of the budget,  the creation of a defence industrial strategy and its potential impact on Canada's self-sufficiency in defence technology, the challenges of balancing immediate procurement needs with long-term strategic goals, the role of the new Defence Investment Agency (DIA) in improving procurement efficiency, and the importance of aligning government, military, and industry, the need for a refreshed defense policy and a national security strategy. Lagassé views the 2025 budget as a radical shift, marking a departure from the historical trend of limited defence investment since the mid-Cold War. The CDA Institute is a non-partisan think tank that conducts research and education programming on defence and security.Learn more: CDA Institute