Ottawa to release first national security strategy in 20 years

The federal government is preparing to release a new national security strategy, the first complete policy of its kind in more than two decades, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Mark Carney says.

David Morrison, the prime minister’s senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser, told the House of Commons public safety and national security committee this week that he hopes the strategy will be made public within a few weeks, The Canadian Press reported Friday.

Morrison said the strategy will aim to strengthen Canada’s defences against an array of security threats. Mélany Gauvin, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, said it will put a greater focus on economic security.

The most recent complete national security policy was Securing an Open Society, released in 2004 by the government of then prime minister Paul Martin. Two years ago, then prime minister Justin Trudeau directed officials to deliver a renewed strategy in 2025.

The announcement comes as the federal government deals with a series of security and sovereignty questions. Ottawa has been managing a dispute with Washington over alleged interference in the U.S. midterms, and Carney has said there is no merit to those claims. The Canadian Press has not reported that the strategy responds to any specific event.

Morrison testified at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa in April 2024, according to a Canadian Press photo caption.

The Privy Council Office has not said what the strategy will contain beyond the economic security focus, and no release date has been confirmed.

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