As a top ten arms exporter in the world, engaging in weapons sales is profitable business for Canada.
In 2018 alone, 640 firms generated $10.7 billion in defence sales, according to a new Macdonald-Laurier Institute commentary from MLI senior fellow Christian Leuprecht.
While this practice is not without controversy, opposition to it is misplaced, he argues. Interest groups that want to stop or slow Canada’s defence system and weapons export regime misread the international security environment. We live in a world of permanent conflict, and Canada will pay a high price if we fail to develop and deploy an innovative and robust security and defence system. This includes an obligation to contribute to the security and defence of our allies.
Forgoing the practice would in fact be more damaging than meaningful, Leuprecht believes.
“While Canada could throttle or cease arms sales, it would simply have no impact on the global arms trade. Instead, it would only drive purchasers to acquire services, technology, and arms from less scrupulous suppliers such as Russia. As Canada is also obligated to contribute to the security and defence of its allies and partners, it must maintain the capacity to do so via participation in global defence supply chains.”
Weapons exports give Canada a measure of leverage in foreign policy matters we would not otherwise have. Taking advantage of this does not mean we cannot take a careful approach with tight rules ensuring the arms we sell do not end up in the wrong hands. He concludes:
“Canada’s export control regime is robust. There is no systematic evidence to call the regime as a whole into question.”
