National security strategy to address array of threats coming soon: Carney adviser
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
OTTAWA – The Liberals are poised to release a new national security strategy for the first time in more than two decades, says a senior federal adviser.
David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser to Prime Minister Mark Carney, says the strategy will look to bolster Canada’s defences against an array of security threats.
“In an increasingly tumultuous world, all risks have gone up,” Morrison told MPs on the House of Commons public safety and national security committee earlier this week.
Morrison added in French he hopes the new strategy will be public within a week or two.
The coming strategy “will have a whole-of-society focus, informed by voices within and outside government, and increase Canada’s focus on economic security,” said Privy Council Office spokesperson Mélany Gauvin.
“It will chart how Canada will enhance its own strategic autonomy to advance its national interests.”
The strategy is expected to address long-standing concerns including espionage, terrorism and foreign interference, as well as Canada’s ability to safeguard its economy in a fractious world of shifting alliances and trade patterns.
In 2004, the Liberal government led by Paul Martin released Securing an Open Society, the most recent overarching national security policy.
Two years ago, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister at the time, directed officials to deliver a renewed national security strategy in 2025.
He said it should set out an integrated framework for Canada’s national security, defence and diplomatic posture, “leveraging engagement with Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”
Trudeau also said the new strategy should be reviewed every four years to ensure it remains current and responsive.
Efforts to come up with a revamped national security strategy hit a snag early last year when it became clear many of the assumptions underlying the work were “no longer valid,” according to an internal federal memo prepared in March 2025.
John Hannaford, the Privy Council clerk at the time, told Carney in the memo that “changes to Canada’s strategic environment” meant work on a draft of the document was based on outdated premises.
Just days earlier, Carney had won the Liberal leadership against a backdrop of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada a U.S. state.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.