Securing the Nation — Benchmark Canada

Pillar four of five

Securing the Nation

Can we defend ourselves?

Defence and security capacity — whether Canada invests enough to protect its territory, people, and interests, and to hold up its end of the alliances that underwrite that security. Security is read broadly here: alongside traditional military strength, it weighs non-traditional threats such as the integrity of the financial system against money laundering and resilience to cyber attack.

Pillar verdictWeak8 metrics

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The metrics

Border integrityWatchTemp residents 3.6%→7.6% of population in 3yrs (govt capped at <5%) · no published overstay rate (US publishes) · 34,700 under removal orders untraced (2019) Defence spendingWatch2.13% 2026e · rank 20 of 31 NATO · below 2.86% alliance avg · met 2% first time Equipment shareWeak25.0% on equipment 2026e · rank 28 of 31 NATO · met 20% guideline first time · Poland 55.9% Investment screeningWatch3 Chinese firms ordered to divest (Nov 2022) · 30 extended national-security reviews 2024–25 · Act modernised 2024, last of the Five Eyes Military personnelWeak1.71 per 1,000 pop · rank 29 of 30 NATO · 10th by headcount · last in G7 Mineral refiningWeakChina refines 94% of rare-earth magnet production and >99% of spherical graphite anode · Canada's rare-earth processing capacity ~400 t/yr Money launderingWatchBasel risk 4.61/10 · below 5.28 global avg · but FSI 18th of 141 secrecy enablers Stolen-vehicle exportWatchCBSA interceptions ~5× since 2018 (peak 2,277 in 2024, 1,590 in 2025) · thefts −18.6% from 2023 record 70,475 · ~$1B claims · past peak, still elevated

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