To ensure that the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces have the capabilities required for Canada to be Strong at home, Secure in North America and Engaged in the world, this policy commits to significant long-term investment.
This includes $33.8 billion for 52 critical new capital projects.
In addition, the policy provides $74.2 billion for existing assets and previously planned equipment, infrastructure and information technology projects. As part of Strong, Secure, Engaged, these projects underwent a thorough costing review, which resulted in the provision of an additional $5.9 billion over 20 years on top of what had previously been budgeted for these projects, to better reflect their true costs. In total, this new vision for defence provides $108 billion for the development and acquisition of capital equipment over the next 20 years.
All of these projects have been costed and the costing methodologies used were independently verified by five external accounting firms. Throughout the process, Defence also worked with costing experts from Deloitte who brought expertise gained from its involvement in recent defence reviews of close Canadian allies. This rigorous and unprecedented process ensures that the vision laid out in this policy is credible and realistic.
Table 1 reflects the planned use of the accrual budget over the 20-year horizon of this policy. It is important to note that this table does not represent the total cost of all planned equipment acquisitions. For example, the first new Canadian Surface Combatant is not scheduled to be delivered until 2026, followed by the remaining 14 ships. As these ships have an expected service life of 30 years, much of the accrual costs will be incurred outside the 20 years reflected in the table.
Furthermore, as these are 20-year estimates, there needs to be flexibility to adjust the accrual budget to reflect changes in major capital projects. The process to adjust or re-profile these estimates over time is through the investment planning process. Defence will publish the next Defence Investment Plan in 2018. The Defence Investment Plan will include all approved capital projects under the policy and will be updated every three years. This will help ensure that Parliament and Canadians can clearly understand future changes to the budget, and deliver on the Government's commitment to transparency, results, and accountability.
Table 1: 20-year accrual and cash view of planned projects and new investments ($ billions)
| 20-year - Accrual basis |
20-Year - Cash basis |
| Capability |
Investments to fully fund and complete planned projects table 1 note1 |
New investment Strong, Secure, Engaged table 1 note2 |
Total planned projects and new investments |
Total planned projects and new investments |
| Royal Canadian Navy |
14.6 |
2.9 |
17.5 |
53.5 |
| Canadian Army |
10.1 |
8.8 |
18.9 |
23.2 |
| Royal Canadian Air Force |
26.4 |
20.1 |
46.4 |
64.4 |
| Special Operations Forces |
1.2 |
0.4 |
1.5 |
1.2 |
| Joint/Emerging Domains |
3.4 |
1.2 |
4.6 |
9.7 |
| Infrastructure |
4.5 |
0.4 |
4.9 |
12.0 |
| Total Capabilities |
60.1 |
33.8 |
93.9 |
164.0 |
| Accrual Expenditure for Existing Equipment and Infrastructure table 1 note3 |
14.1 |
- |
14.1 |
- |
| 20 Year Total table 1 note4 |
74.2 |
33.8 |
108.0 |
164.0 |
Table 1 Note 1
Strong, Secure, Engaged commits $74.2 billion over 20 years to fully fund 281 projects that were planned, but for which Defence had insufficient funding to acquire. Adequate funding has now been allocated to deliver these core equipment projects.
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Table 1 Note 2
Strong, Secure, Engaged commits $33.8 billion over the next 20 years to 52 new equipment, infrastructure, and information technology projects for the Canadian Armed Forces.
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Table 1 Note 3
This amount ($14.1 billion), on an accrual basis, represents previously acquired equipment and infrastructure. As they are already in service, there is no future cash requirement to purchase these assets.
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Table 1 Note 4
Totals may not add up due to rounding.
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Below is an overview of capital funding commitments in Strong, Secure, Engaged, described in terms of investments in the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Special Operations Forces, Joint Capabilities and Infrastructure.
Investment in the Royal Canadian Navy
The Government will provide $17.5 billion to fund equipment projects for the Royal Canadian Navy over the next 20 years. This includes:
- $2.9 billion over the next 20 years for two new equipment investments in the Royal Canadian Navy to replace obsolete components of current systems and improve the Royal Canadian Navy's ability to meet evolving underwater threats.
- $14.6 billion over the next 20 years to fully fund planned equipment projects. For example, this policy includes sufficient funding to acquire the full complement of 15 Canadian Surface Combatants. It is important to note that Table 1 only captures a 20-year view of the equipment investments committed to in this policy. As the first ship is not scheduled to be delivered until 2026 and the fleet is expected to be in service for 30 years, there will be significant expenditures outside this timeframe.
Investment in the Canadian Army
The Government will provide $18.9 billion for Canadian Army equipment projects over the next 20 years. This includes:
- $8.8 billion over the next 20 years for 20 new equipment projects. As examples, this investment will replace existing light and heavy trucks for use in domestic and expeditionary operations. We will also improve the Canadian Army's ability to operate in Canada's North with a new family of Arctic-capable land vehicles, as well as close critical capability gaps such as the Canadian Army's lack of ground-based air defence equipment, which will allow it to defeat threats posed by airborne weapons such as remotely piloted vehicles and aircraft used by potential adversaries.
- $10.1 billion over the next 20 years to fully fund planned equipment projects. For example, the upgrade of the Light Armoured Vehicle fleet will improve mobility and survivability.
Investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force
The Government will provide $46.4 billion to fund equipment projects for the Royal Canadian Air Force over the next 20 years. This includes:
- $20.1 billion over the next 20 years for 17 new equipment projects for the Royal Canadian Air Force. For example, this will deliver a Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft to replace the CP-140 Aurora Long Range Patrol Aircraft, allowing us to maintain our technological advantage over potential adversaries. Under the Royal Canadian Air Force's responsibility for space capabilities, portions of new investment will expand the Canadian Armed Forces' ability to use space-based assets in support of operations. This includes projects for enhanced communications in the North.
- $26.4 billion to fully fund planned equipment projects. The new fighter program has been enhanced to ensure the Royal Canadian Air Force can acquire 88 new advanced fighters, which will allow us to deliver on NORAD and NATO commitments without compromise.
Investment in Special Operations Forces
The Government will provide $1.5 billion to fund equipment projects for Canada's Special Operations Forces over the next 20 years. This includes:
- $366 million over the next 20 years for four new projects. For example, integrated soldier system equipment will be modernized to enhance interoperability and maintain technological advantage against potential adversaries.
- $1.2 billion over the next 20 years to fully fund planned equipment projects. As an example, we will acquire an airborne intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platform that will enhance the ability of our Special Operations Forces to improve their understanding of the operational environment.
Investment in joint capabilities
The Government will provide $4.6 billion for joint capability projects in domains such as cyber, intelligence as well as joint command and control over the next 20 years. This includes:
- $1.2 billion over the next 20 years for five new equipment projects and one information technology project. For example, the Combined Joint Intelligence Modernization project will provide a modern deployable intelligence centre for land-based operations, building on the lessons learned in recent operations. Additionally, the Secure Radio Modernization project will upgrade encryption capability of radios to maintain security and interoperability with our Five-Eyes partners.
- $3.4 billion over the next 20 years to fully fund planned equipment projects. For example, we will improve the capabilities of the Joint Deployable Headquarters and Signals Regiment. This will include the acquisition of portable structures to house the deployed headquarters and the equipment employed by its staff for command, control and communications.
Investment in infrastructure
The Government will provide $4.9 billion over the next 20 years to infrastructure projects across Canada in order to maintain the necessary portfolio of real property holdings. This includes:
- $446 million over the next 20 years for three new infrastructure projects. For example, this funding will enable the construction of new buildings to house the expanded and enhanced Canadian Armed Forces Joint Incident Response Unit. This will ensure that the unit is able to provide chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defence support to the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.
- $4.5 billion to fully fund planned projects over the next 20 years.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/canada-defence-policy/annex-b.html
