Ukraine-Russia war sparks fresh calls to modernize North America’s defence system

Canada and the U.S. have issued several joint statements over the years affirming the need to upgrade the North American Aerospace Defence Command.

Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s decision to put his country’s nuclear arsenal on high alert last weekend has sparked hope that Ottawa and Washington will finally act with urgency in upgrading North America’s defences.

Successive Canadian and American governments have been promising for years to modernize the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or Norad, which was first created during the Cold War to protect against a Soviet attack.

Yet despite increasingly urgent warnings from senior military commanders on both sides of the border about the need to address a growing number of gaps in North America’s defences, many are still waiting for Canada to act.

Norad commander U.S. Gen. Glen VanHerck this week highlighted the growing threat that North America faces as Russia and China develop and field long-range weapons that can hit Canada or the United States, and which the current system can’t detect.

Those include nuclear and non-nuclear weapons such as hypersonic and cruise missiles, which Putin put on high alert last weekend in retaliation for NATO’s support of Ukraine.

Appearing before a Congressional committee on Tuesday, VanHerck said the long-held assumption that Canada and the U.S. could deploy forces at will because of the continent’s geographic safety “is eroding _ and has been eroding for more than a decade.”

As adversaries continue to field faster and longer-ranged weapons, he added, “we must improve our ability to detect and track potential threats anywhere in the world while delivering data to decision makers as rapidly as possible.”

The federal Liberal government insists modernizing Norad is a top priority. To that end, Canada and the U.S. have issued several joint statements over the years affirming the need to upgrade the system. Ottawa also set aside an initial $163 million for the effort last year.