'If We don't Enhance Our Defence and Security, We Give up Our Sovereignty' episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 7, 2025 · 46 MIN

'If We don't Enhance Our Defence and Security, We Give up Our Sovereignty'

from Conference of Defence Associations Institute · host CDA Institute

On today's Expert Series, Paul Taillon and Howard Coombs joined us to discuss Canada's plan to expand its reserve forces, with goals to increase the primary reserve to 100,000 and the supplementary reserve to 300,000. They discussed the key challenges, including inefficient recruiting systems, limited training capacity, and the need for better integration with regular forces. Other issues addressed were the supplementary reserve's current role as a civil defence pool rather than a war-fighting force, historical context on the reserve's role in national defence, and the importance of addressing these challenges to maintain Canada's sovereignty and readiness for future threats.Given the urgent need to address these issues, what steps can Canada take to ensure a more effective and sustainable reserve force strategy in the face of an increasingly unstable global security environment?Dr. Col. Paul de B. Taillon is the Vice-Chair of the PIF Selection Committee and has over 40 years of academic, intelligence and military experience. Dr. Howard Coombs is an Associate Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada and Associate Director Defence Engagement of the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy, both in Kingston, Ontario. He is also a part-time Canadian Army reservist with the Canadian Defence Academy, also located in Kingston.➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cdainstitute/➡️ Twitter/X: https://x.com/CDAInstitute➡️ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/cdainstitute.bsky.social➡️ Instagram: https://bit.ly/42ih7SU📬 Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest defence and security updates delivered to your inbox: https://bit.ly/4fQ2wDVThe CDA Institute is a non-partisan think tank that conducts research and education programming on defence and security.The CDA Institute is a non-partisan think tank that conducts research and education programming on defence and security.Learn more: CDA Institute

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 7, 2025

Embed this episode

On today's Expert Series, Paul Taillon and Howard Coombs joined us to discuss Canada's plan to expand its reserve forces, with goals to increase the primary reserve to 100,000 and the supplementary reserve to 300,000. They discussed the key challenges, including inefficient recruiting systems, limited training capacity, and the need for better integration with regular forces. Other issues addressed were the supplementary reserve's current role as a civil defence pool rather than a war-...

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

NOW PLAYING

'If We don't Enhance Our Defence and Security, We Give up Our Sovereignty'

0:00 46:00

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Conference of Defence Associations Institute?

This episode is 46 minutes long.

When was this Conference of Defence Associations Institute episode published?

This episode was published on December 7, 2025.

Can I download this Conference of Defence Associations Institute episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!