The federal government’s 2025 budget has finally been released, and the contents are promising for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Chapter Four of Canada Strong 2025 highlights initiatives the government is taking to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty and security. Russian aggression against Ukraine and China’s growing ambitions of global dominance were cited as primary motivations. One particularly refreshing passage says: “In

Canada has narrowed its next-generation submarine competition to two boats that represent different philosophies of conventional undersea warfare. The German–Norwegian Type 212CD by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is a compact, exceptionally quiet design optimized for prolonged covert presence in northern approaches and other complex littorals. South Korea’s KSS-III Batch II by Hanwha Ocean is a larger, blue-water hull with a

Canada Can and Must Meet NATO’s Defence Spending Commitments—Here’s how   Much attention has been given to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent promise to finally meet Canada’s NATO commitment to spend 2% of its GDP on national defence—a target Canada has conspicuously failed to reach since first pledging to do so in 2014. There’s even discussion of increasing this commitment

A new kind of military thriller has arrived—and it’s Canadian. I’m Michael J. Lalonde, a former intelligence officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and former politician, now author of The Quiet War: Canadian Front. Drawing from two decades of experience in intelligence, strategy, and leadership, this debut novel is a deeply authentic, high-stakes story of covert warfare, political tension, and

Play Dumb by Cole Chase is the second installment of his latest series, The Valiant Thrillogy. It is a gripping and high-octane sequel that delivers relentless action, razor-sharp dialogue, and a masterfully woven web of cyber warfare, political intrigue, and personal stakes. Cole Chase crafts a thriller that balances pulse-pounding tension with intelligent storytelling, keeping the reader hooked from the

Cole Chase’s Cold Hit is the first installment of his latest series, The Valiant Thrillogy, which follows his previous series, The Skyhaus Thrillogy, chronicling the adventures of Shadowfast, a covert heist crew operating under the guise of a heavy metal band specializing in cons, cyber-infiltration, and high-stakes deception. It’s a high-stakes thriller with relentless fast pacing that plunges headfirst into

The crisis in Ukraine features Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s ambitions versus the will of the entire population of Ukraine. Unfortunately, it appears that Putin and Ukraine have irreconcilable differences which will make it extremely difficult for a diplomatic solution in the foreseeable future. Here’s why. The unprovoked, illegal, and vendetta driven Russian invasion of Ukraine may prove to be Putin’s

When Canadian special forces first entered Afghanistan in late 2001, we and our allies had very little intelligence on the region, its people, the culture, or the languages. Canadians had to rely on local assistance to build an initial intelligence picture and to plan operations. In those early days of clearing out Al-Qaeda terrorists from mountain strongholds where they took