Former Defence Chief Says Ottawa Needs ‘Much More’ Urgency Fixing Military Procurement

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Canada’s military procurement debate has moved beyond a familiar complaint about slow bureaucracy. Retired Gen. Wayne Eyre, who served as chief of the defence staff until 2024, is warning that the speed of change in the global security environment is making time itself a strategic problem. In a new interview with The West Block, Eyre said Canada needs “much more of a sense of urgency” in getting defence capabilities delivered.

His intervention comes as Ottawa is simultaneously increasing defence spending, reorganizing the procurement system and pursuing some of the largest military purchases in Canadian history. The government can point to projects moving faster under its new approach. Yet parliamentary, audit and Defence Department data also show that Canada is still dealing with delayed capital spending, equipment-readiness problems, personnel shortages and procurement risks accumulated over many years.

Eyre’s Warning Lands at a Pivotal Moment

Eyre’s latest comments are notable because urgency was also a theme while he was still Canada’s top soldier. Appearing before the House of Commons defence committee in 2023, he expressed concern about ammunition stocks and argued that expanding domestic production required contracts and additional production capacity. He warned at the time that Canada needed more urgency in that area and said some critical munitions could be exhausted quickly under consumption rates comparable with the war in Ukraine. His new remarks therefore represent continuity rather than a newly discovered concern.

The difference today is that Ottawa has substantially more money and new procurement structures with which to respond. Eyre has previously welcomed higher defence spending while cautioning that rebuilding military capability cannot be achieved simply by ordering expensive platforms. In a June 2025 interview, he emphasized that personnel, infrastructure and the other ingredients of readiness have to accompany new equipment. His argument places procurement inside a broader challenge: converting government announcements and allocated dollars into forces that can actually train, deploy and remain sustained in operations.

The Problem Is Older Than the Latest Reform

Canada has been trying to improve military procurement for more than a decade. The federal Defence Procurement Strategy introduced in 2014 was itself designed to deliver equipment more quickly, generate economic benefits and streamline the process. Responsibility remained distributed among organizations including National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, with each responsible for different stages of major acquisitions.

Later evidence showed that the gap between plans and execution remained significant. The Parliamentary Budget Officer reported in October 2025 that actual National Defence capital spending between 2017–18 and 2023–24 fell $18.5 billion below the amounts originally planned. On average, the annual gap was about $2.6 billion, or approximately 35% of projected spending. The PBO also warned that project delays tend to push expenditures into later years, where inflation and defence-specific cost increases can further erode purchasing power. That does not mean every procurement is late, but it shows why simply allocating more capital does not automatically produce equipment on schedule.

Readiness Numbers Show Why Delays Matter

Procurement timelines become more consequential when existing fleets are already under pressure. National Defence reported that only 61.3% of force elements met established operational-readiness targets in 2024–25, against a target of at least 90%. The department attributed the shortfall to continuing shortages involving sustainment, equipment and personnel, compounded by demands associated with Canada’s NATO deployment in Latvia. The timeline for meeting that readiness target was subsequently extended to 2032.

Equipment statistics tell a similar story. In 2024–25, 59.6% of key maritime fleets were serviceable for training, readiness and operational requirements. The comparable result was 51% for key land fleets and 42.3% for aerospace fleets. Defence noted that maritime performance was affected by maintenance on Halifax-class ships, crewing and materiel issues with the Kingston class and mechanical problems involving HMCS Windsor. Such numbers do not mean the entire military is unavailable at once—planned maintenance is built into readiness targets—but they illustrate the practical consequences when replacement platforms, spare parts, maintenance systems and personnel capacity are all under strain at the same time.

Ottawa Has Built a New Procurement Machine

The federal government’s principal structural response is the Defence Investment Agency, announced in October 2025. Established initially as a special operating agency within Public Services and Procurement Canada, it was designed to consolidate expertise that had been dispersed across several departments. Government documents say the agency is intended to eliminate duplication, reduce red tape, simplify decision-making and create a clearer point of accountability for major military acquisitions. Doug Guzman began serving as its chief executive in November 2025.

Ottawa has also proposed giving the agency greater institutional independence and contracting authority. The 2026 federal economic update proposed $103.8 million over five years, followed by $22.3 million annually, to establish and operate it as a stand-alone entity. Public Services and Procurement Canada says the reform includes simpler requirements, more flexible procurement models, stronger contract management and earlier engagement with industry. Those changes address several problems identified repeatedly by parliamentary committees. Whether they permanently shorten procurement timelines will depend on how consistently they work once many large acquisitions are moving simultaneously.

The Spending Surge Raises the Execution Bar

The financial scale of the challenge is increasing rapidly. Ottawa says Canada spent more than $63 billion on defence in 2025–26, bringing reported defence expenditures to roughly 2% of gross domestic product. Canada and other NATO allies also agreed in 2025 to a longer-term investment commitment equivalent to 5% of GDP by 2035, divided between core military spending and broader defence- and security-related investment. The government describes the increased funding as the foundation for rebuilding personnel, infrastructure, equipment and industrial capacity.

That spending trajectory makes procurement performance more important, not less. The PBO estimated in its 2025 capital update that National Defence’s planned capital envelope for 2024–25 through 2043–44 stood at $322.9 billion, with annual capital spending expected to peak at $25.7 billion in 2030–31. Managing such a pipeline involves far more than signing contracts. Departments need people capable of defining military requirements, negotiating complex agreements, managing infrastructure, overseeing suppliers and integrating new systems. If those functions cannot expand alongside the budget, money can again be shifted into later years rather than converted into usable military capability.

Big Projects Show Both Progress and Risk

Ottawa has evidence that parts of the new system can move more quickly. In July 2026, the government selected Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems as the preferred supplier for negotiations covering up to 12 new submarines. The government said the competitive phase leading to the selection was completed in roughly eight months and about five years earlier than the original schedule. Canada intends to conclude contracting no later than the end of 2027, with the first four submarines targeted for delivery in 2034.

Other procurements illustrate why speed must be measured across an entire project rather than at a single milestone. The Auditor General reported in 2025 that the estimated cost of Canada’s 88-aircraft F-35 project had risen from $19 billion in 2022 to $27.7 billion by 2024, largely because of factors including exchange-rate movements and higher infrastructure costs. Additional elements required for full operational capability were expected to add at least $5.5 billion. The audit also found that two new fighter-squadron facilities were not expected to be completed until 2031, more than three years later than planned. Procurement can therefore advance while infrastructure, personnel and integration schedules remain sources of risk.

Industrial Benefits Can Add Another Layer

Military procurement serves more than one federal objective. Ottawa also uses large defence purchases to support Canadian jobs, technology development, supply chains and industrial capacity. Under the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, major contractors can be required to generate business activity in Canada broadly equivalent to the value of their contracts. From 2014 through 2023, the Auditor General identified 99 procurements worth at least $39 billion that carried more than $36 billion in industrial or technological benefit obligations.

The same audit highlighted a tension between industrial policy and procurement speed. It found that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada could not demonstrate the policy was fully meeting its objectives and lacked clear guidance and adequate tracking in several areas. The Auditor General also concluded that delays in negotiations and costs associated with managing industrial-benefit obligations conflicted with the goal of providing equipment to the Armed Forces in a timely manner. The finding does not establish that domestic economic benefits should be abandoned. It does show why Ottawa’s effort to buy quickly while maximizing Canadian economic returns requires careful design rather than adding requirements without considering their effect on schedules.

New Equipment Still Needs People Behind It

Canada’s personnel picture has improved, but the Armed Forces are still rebuilding. National Defence reported that 7,310 people joined the Regular Force in fiscal 2025–26, exceeding its target of 6,957 and producing the strongest annual intake in more than 30 years. The recruitment target increased again for 2026–27, while basic-training capacity is being expanded to handle additional recruits. As of August 31, 2026, the Regular Force stood at 68,714 members compared with an authorized strength of 71,500.

Numbers alone do not solve every personnel problem. Defence has acknowledged continuing shortages in critical occupations, and some recruiting incentives apply specifically where trained strength is particularly low. New fighters need pilots and technicians. Submarines require qualified crews and specialized maintainers. Radar systems, cyber capabilities and increasingly sophisticated command networks demand technical expertise that is also sought by the private sector. Eyre’s earlier warning that shiny new equipment is of limited value without the people and infrastructure to operate it therefore has a measurable institutional basis. A faster procurement system has to synchronize equipment deliveries with training, staffing, housing, maintenance and base infrastructure.

Arctic and Alliance Commitments Tighten the Clock

The procurement debate is also being reshaped by the Arctic and continental defence. National Defence says it is investing $38.6 billion over 20 years in NORAD modernization, alongside future fighters, airborne early-warning aircraft, northern infrastructure and new surveillance systems. One major project is Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar, which is intended to detect air and maritime threats at ranges beyond conventional radar coverage and give Canadian and NORAD commanders more warning time.

Canada formalized arrangements with Australia and BAE Systems Australia in June 2026 to move that radar project into delivery. Ottawa says it will spend $2.5 billion with Australia on the radar capability itself, within a broader program valued above $6 billion, and is aiming for an initial operational capability by December 2029. The project illustrates another procurement path Ottawa is emphasizing: partnering with allies that already possess proven technology instead of developing everything domestically from scratch. Such partnerships can shorten development timelines, but they still require infrastructure, system integration, Canadian sustainment capacity and interoperability with U.S. and NATO networks.

The Real Test Is Whether Faster Becomes Routine

The broad diagnosis of Canada’s procurement weaknesses is no longer especially mysterious. A 2024 House of Commons defence committee report called for the government to map the complete procurement process, remove duplication, improve tracking and accountability, delegate some decisions to lower levels and reduce the number of approvals where appropriate. Witnesses also emphasized the need for a stronger sense of urgency and a clearer point of accountability. Many of those ideas now appear in the mandate of the Defence Investment Agency.

That makes the next phase less about identifying the problem and more about proving that reform works repeatedly. A fast submarine competition is one encouraging data point; persistent capital underspending, readiness gaps and cost pressures provide reasons for continued scrutiny. Eyre’s warning captures that tension. Ottawa has more funding, a new procurement organization and several major projects moving forward, but the security environment and military’s existing equipment needs are evolving at the same time. The measure of success will not simply be how much money Canada announces or how many contracts it signs. It will be whether equipment reaches trained personnel, with infrastructure and sustainment ready, before operational requirements move again.

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