Canada’s top military officer says the Canadian Armed Forces will face financial challenges if it wants to maintain a sustained warship presence in the Western Pacific.
Gen. Wayne Eyre spoke during a panel discussion on China’s rise as a military superpower at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday.
The chief of defense staff said Canada currently has three frigates deployed in the region as part of joint naval exercises with Japan and the United States.
However, he stressed that these ships were reaching the end of their 30-year lifespan.
General Eyre noted that while Canada is committed to maintaining shipping operations in the region, maintaining the frigates will be challenging as we balance resources around the world.
He added that the Halifax-class frigates are in urgent need of maintenance.
When we look at the state of our maintenance funding over the next few years, we are looking at a very, very difficult period.
He also expressed concern about the continued deployment of the country’s maritime patrol aircraft, saying their operational capability was less than 50 percent and they urgently needed to be replaced.
Issue
General Eyre’s comments are just the latest concerns about the impact of looming budget cuts on the military.
Deputy Minister Bill Matthews told the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defense in September that the department was considering planned spending cuts totaling more than $900 million over four years while trying to manage the impact on the military willingness to minimize.
Defense Secretary Bill Blair appeared to acknowledge his staff’s concerns on Friday when he appeared at the forum during the opening round of the forum on the war in Ukraine.
He told the forum’s roughly 300 delegates that it would be difficult for Canada to make long-term ammunition commitments to Ukraine when its own supplies were so low.
The Canadian Armed Forces urgently needs resources and equipment and we are committed to providing them. I very often ask them to make sacrifices and give up part of their own reserves and supplies to share with Ukraine.
savings
Outside experts said nearly $1 billion in cuts would hit the armed forces’ performance, although Blair insisted his ministry’s spending would not be cut.
The most recent federal budget allocates $39.7 billion for the department in 2026-2027, compared to $26.5 billion for the current fiscal year. The bulk of the next few years’ budget is earmarked for long-term spending commitments, such as the purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets.
In the same budget, the government announced plans to achieve savings of more than $15 billion over five years by reducing advice, professional services and travel by 15% and departmental spending by 3%.
The defense budget accounts for approximately 1.3% of Canada’s GDP. The Liberal government has never put forward a plan to achieve the 2% target, despite pressure from some of its NATO counterparts and despite previous commitments to meet the target.
On Saturday, Blair told reporters in Halifax that his department was seeking additional funding, adding that the department also needed to work on spending money already available.
“We are in the middle of very important tax discussions with the Treasury,” he said.