In this Threat Assessment paper, Chris Morrison, Andrea Charron, and James Fergusson make the case that Canada’s $38 billion NORAD modernization investment is as much about preserving a relationship as it is about closing a capability gap. With adversaries fielding hypersonic missiles, attack drones, and space-based systems that have rendered Cold War-era architecture increasingly obsolete, the authors argue that Canada must take its continental defence obligations more seriously in order to remain a credible and valued ally. Drawing on the RCAF’s five operational functions – sense, command, act, shield, and sustain – they assess current capability gaps, how modernization projects aim to close them, and what Canada must do to strengthen the relationship in an era defined by great power competition and growing American unilateralism.
