Canada’s Defence Challenges in the Indo-Pacific

Series 48 | Published Oct. 2024 | 69  pp

In the fall of 2022, the Canadian government announced a new approach to the Indo-Pacific region. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) asserted that there were tectonic changes in global politics underway—a “once-in-a-generation global shift that requires a generational Canadian response.” But what kind of change in Canadian defence policy was the IPS calling for? Would it involve restructuring the Canadian Armed Forces to meet the demands of the new geostrategic environment? If so, what would the budgetary implications of such a “generational response” be? To examine the defence policy implications of the IPS, the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University and the Canadian Defence and Security Network headquartered at Carleton University co-hosted a workshop in January 2024. To guide and galvanize discussion at the workshop, ten experts in Canadian foreign and defence policy were invited to contribute brief reflections on the implications of the IPS for Canadian defence policy. Their briefs, reproduced in this Martello Paper, provide a useful set of policy perspectives for thinking about Canadian defence policy in the years ahead as Canadians are increasingly drawn into great power rivalries in the Indo-Pacific.

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Canadian Defence Perspectives on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Series 47 | Published Sept. 2024 | 54 pp

In Canadian Defence Perspectives on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, an anthology edited by Morgan-Olivia Fox, undergraduate and master’s level students explore the complexities of Canadian foreign policy amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. This Martello Paper examines Canada’s response to Russia’s aggression, emphasizing its involvement in international organizations, its commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agendas, and the broader context of great power competition. Through a series of insightful essays, the contributors analyze the challenges Canada faces, from international law and security in the Arctic to the gendered aspects of Russia's invasion. This volume is not only a testament to the academic rigor of its young contributors but also a vital resource for understanding Canada’s strategic position in an increasingly volatile world.

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Peacekeeping: Perspectives Old and New

Series 46 | Published Apr. 2023 | 211 pp

2017 represented the 60th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Lester B. Pearson, then Canada’s Secretary of External Affairs and later Prime Minister, for his crucial role in organizing the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to help resolve the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956. Pearson’s role in deploying peacekeepers to resolve the conflict was not only a crucial turning point in the institutionalization of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, but it also began the long and proud history of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) of providing support to peace operations ever since. Equally important was the electoral promises of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to recommit Canada to a UN peacekeeping role after a decline in support during the governments of Stephen Harper and Paul Martin. For many Canadians, Trudeau’s aspirational catch phrase “We’re back!” led to a belief that their armed forces would reassume their traditional “Blue Helmet” roles in UN operations, including the deployment of Canadian soldiers to conflict regions. Indeed, Canada’s “return to peacekeeping” came at a time when many were beginning to reflect on peacekeeping’s future both in Canada and beyond, including the newly elected UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who worried that the UN was “underperforming in conflict prevention, in peace operations, and in efforts to sustain peace.”

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Strategic Nuclear Force Signalling During the Russia-Ukraine Crisis: A Preliminary Analysis

Series 45 | Published Feb. 2023 | 94 pp

Signalling using strategic nuclear forces was thought to be an artifact of the Cold War. This Martello paper demonstrates that this is not so. Indeed, new forms of of information, especially social media, has altered and now merged with nuclear force signalling.

Weeks before the latest iteration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, American, British, and French strategic nuclear forces were employed to backstop and underpin diplomatic and other efforts in an attempt to forestall escalation. Russian attempts to use strategic nuclear forces to generate docile compliance by the West failed in the face of these efforts. This preliminary analysis looks at this activity in the first half of 2022 during the initial stages of this phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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Framework for Women Mentorship in the Canadian Armed Forces (FWM-CAF)

Series 44 | Published Jan. 2023 | 123 pp

This study explores the possibility of a mentorship program for women in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Through a six-phase study including a scoping review, interviews, resource mining and review, framework development, resource development, and validation, the Framework for Women Mentorship in the CAF (FWM-CAF) was created. This Martello paper lays out the creation of the framework using the interview data from 28 initial interviewees (mostly women) and eight additional validation interviewees (an equal number of men and women). After an extensive scoping review of the literature on mentorship in military, military adjacent and policing organizations, interviews were held with subject matter experts in mentorship as well as Canadian service-women and Veterans who had served or are serving as mentors and mentees. The interview data revealed overall support for the idea of program specifically for women in the CAF, as interviewees expressed their positive experiences with the network and community-building that mentorship can provide, especially in male-dominated organizations such as the military.

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