The Canadian Maritime Security Network is a dispersed research organization, tying together Canadian and international academic and professional organizations engaged in maritime security research. Its purpose is to provide the Government of Canada with timely and relevant policy advice while advancing public understanding of maritime security issues.
MINDS Policy Challenges
As a MINDS funded research network, the CMSN is tasked with addressing targeted policy challenges set by the Canadian Department of National Defence. The netowk is specifically focused on three of DND’s priority research areas:
1.Strategic Competition and Global Issues
As Russia and China increasingly threaten the global, rules based international order, Canada and its allies are being forced to reassess their ability to engage opponents across the spectrum of competition. From the kinetic warfighting in Ukraine to the hybrid competition surrounding China’s maritime militia and illegal fishing fleets, great power competition now requires modern, flexible maritime power. Canada’s defence strategy, Strong, Secure and Engaged (SSE) (updated in 2024 by Our North Strong and Free, recognize this reality, with SSE calling for naval forces able to “respond across a wide spectrum of maritime situations and serve as an instrument of national power on the international stage.” Developing that capability and folding it into a holistic, pan-domain approach is, however, an extraordinarily complex task, requiring considerable analysis into a diverse range of strategic, operational, and tactical factors.
Currently, the government is seeking to address its maritime safety, security, and defence requirements with a massive recapitalization of both the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, a multibillion-dollar program aiming to construct over 50 vessels. How this program proceeds, the technologies and capabilities incorporated into new vessels, and the focus of the services’ investment are essential considerations to ensuring that Canada develops the appropriate assets and capabilities.
CMSN provides academic and expert insight into the government’s massive recapitalization of the federal fleets. The network offers research and analytical support on the rapidly evolving nature of great power competition to help the Defence Team better understand the political, economic, and strategic drivers of global maritime threats. It also offers the research capacity to delve into competitors’ maritime interests and strategies while identifying patterns and capabilities to better enable Canada to match its assets to future requirements.
2. Continental Defence
The maritime approaches to North America are an increasingly crucial component of continental defence across the safety – security – defence spectrum. And, as Canada invests in NORAD modernization, a new focus on the maritime space has been called for – in both Canadian and American policy. CMSN will support the defence team by coordinating new research into emerging defence threats, including developments in hypersonic weapons, advanced cruise and ballistic missiles, and UAVs/UUVs. With international partners, the network will also support new research into the implications for North America from China’s naval build up, Russian aggression, and the emerging threats to continental fish stocks from increasingly rapacious distant water fishing fleets. As global maritime insecurity evolves to encompass hybrid threats, the network will pay particular attention to grey zone challenges, including the use of maritime militias and quasi-state actors, which have emerged as the preferred modus operandi of many of our adversaries. Responding to amorphous threats below the threshold of armed conflict will require improved situational awareness, cooperation, and methods of deterrence – all vital research topics that will be at the heart of the CMSN agenda.
3. Domains and Technology
The pace of technological change in maritime warfare is staggering, with new tools changing old operational concepts. The tactical innovations and improvisations witnessed in Ukraine have also forced a reconsideration of maritime security. Understanding the implications, risks, and opportunities presented by these changes will be essential as Canada builds new frigates (and potentially submarines) and develops concepts of operation for its future fleets. One of the most important considerations for CMSN will be surveying new technologies – and the innovative application of existing tools – to support the Defence Team’s operational thinking and procurement priorities to help DND quickly translate advancements into military capability. This will be achieved by leveraging and channeling the knowledge base of our partner organizations in Canada and abroad, through original research, and new partnerships with industry to highlight the most promising innovations that may not yet be on the Defence Team’s radar.