A former top military chief has dismissed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent trip to Iqaluit–where he announced an Arctic defence partnership between Canada and Australia–as nothing more than a campaign stunt.
Carney made his first domestic trip since he was sworn in on Tuesday, to announce that Canada would partner with Australia to invest $6 billion into an early warning radar system along Canada’s U.S. border in the Arctic.
However, retired lieutenant-général Michel Maisonneuve said that there was “nothing new” about Carney’s announcement, calling it blatant “electioneering.”
Furthermore, Maisonneuve said he was “outraged that a non-elected PM is travelling to Europe and within Canada and making announcements without Parliament being able to weigh in.”
“He’s supposed to be a caretaker PM; no doubt that these announcements are meant to increase his chances of being elected before even having called an election,” Maisonneuve told True North. “Not fair.”
Reports indicate that Carney will call an election on Sunday.
Carney said the Arctic Over-The-Horizon Radar system, developed alongside “defence and security partner,” Australia, is designed to “fundamentally, keep all Canadians safe.”
The radar system will allow the Canadian Armed Forces to “detect and respond to both air and maritime threats over our Arctic, faster and from further away.”
While Maisonneuve agrees that it’s good to “diversify allies” during this turbulent geo-political time, he noted how the funding for this project had already been planned.
It was outlined in Canada’s modernization plan for the North American Aerospace Defense Command back in 2022.
“As far as the announcements themselves, some were already part of the increased funding for NORAD renewal so nothing new there; just unfair electioneering again,” said Maisonneuve.
The federal government also plans to invest $420 million in new money to protect Canadian sovereignty on land and at sea, providing the CAF with the ability to have a “greater, sustained and year-round” presence in the Arctic.
The CAF will also soon be expanding deployment to the region for training purposes.
“The world is changing. Our adversaries are increasingly emboldened. International norms and institutions that have kept Canada secure are now being called into question,” said Carney. “We cannot and should not look first to others to defend our nation.”
Additionally, the prime minister announced $253 million in new infrastructure funding for Nunavut, including $94 million to upgrade power plants in Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven and Igloolik.
There are also plans to install a new diesel generator in Iqaluit.
Another $73.8 million will go to support housing in Iqaluit over the next 10 years and $65.2 million for building approximately 177 new homes while repairing the 401 existing ones. Twenty million will be given to the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation to support the initial phase of its planned hydroelectricity facility outside of Iqaluit.
“The other initiatives are good ideas, but once again should not have been committed until the next government is elected,” said Maisonneuve, who also noted that “several also copy what the CPC has promised.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged to double the country’s northern military presence by building a fully-fledged Arctic military base and purchasing two more icebreakers during a trip to Iqaluit in February, all while cutting foreign aid to pay for Canada’s northern defence.
“Canada’s Arctic is under threat,” he said at the time. “After nine years of Liberal incompetence and disdain, our military is weakened, and our allies no longer respect us. Our safety, territory and trade with the US requires we take back control of our north.”