To watch the war between Ukraine and Russia, and the wars between Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah/the Houthis/Iran, is to be reminded of how unprepared Canada is. After decades of neglect, the Canadian Armed Forces are poorly armed, and in some important respects, they are not armed at all.
For example, when the Russian military invaded Ukraine in early 2022, two weapons were key to Ukraine’s ability to resist: anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles.
The Canadian Army used to have several different weapons systems to defend soldiers on the ground against air attack. These were all retired by 2012, and nothing replaced them. Ottawa purchased an advanced air-defence missile battery last year, known as a NASAMS, but only for the purpose of donating it to Ukraine. The Canadian Forces don’t have this kit.
