Defence Investment Plan 2018 | Message from the Minister of National Defence

I am pleased to release the Defence Investment Plan. The plan sets out the key equipment, infrastructure, and services investments required to deliver Canada’s defence policy vision — a vision in which Canada is Strong at home, Secure in North America, and Engaged in the world.

At its core, Canada’s defence policy is about caring for the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces. This includes providing them with the right equipment to do their jobs effectively. It is why the Government of Canada made a significant, long-term investment in the capabilities that our military needs to carry out current and future operations.

To forecast how much it would cost to implement the defence policy over its 20-year horizon, we conducted a rigorous exercise with external accounting firms. We also recognized that, no matter how realistic and credible our costing forecasts, a 20-year policy needs to have the flexibility to adjust to changes in major capital projects. Adjusting these cost forecasts over time is done through the investment planning process.

The Investment Plan provides important direction to guide how Defence funding is managed and spent. It includes all approved capital projects under Canada’s defence policy. It will be refreshed annually and approved by the Treasury Board every three years. This will help Canadians understand how the defence budget is changing and why these changes will help the Canadian Armed Forces succeed.

This Plan delivers on our commitment in Strong, Secure, Engaged to provide Canadians with greater transparency on defence spending. It gives industry more information on our government’s defence investments in order to provide the equipment and infrastructure our women and men in uniform need to do their jobs.

Original signed by:

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, MP
Minister of National Defence