Canada's New National Security Strategy to Address Espionage and Foreign Interference

• •Canada's new national security strategy focuses on economic security and strategic autonomy.
• •The strategy addresses threats like espionage, terrorism, and foreign interference.
• •Previous efforts to update the strategy faced challenges due to outdated assumptions.

Canada's upcoming national security strategy, announced by Privy Council Office spokesperson Mélany Gauvin, aims to enhance economic security and strategic autonomy in response to threats like espionage, terrorism, and foreign interference. The strategy is a response to changing global dynamics, including U.S. tariffs and political pressures. It will integrate input from various sectors of society and is expected to be reviewed every four years. Previous efforts to update the strategy faced challenges due to outdated assumptions about the strategic environment. The last comprehensive national security policy was released in 2004 under Prime Minister Paul Martin. The new strategy was directed by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2024, with a draft initially prepared in 2025. However, significant revisions were necessary following a memo indicating that many foundational assumptions were no longer valid.