The issues surrounding defence acquisition took a backseat in
the run up to the 2019 federal election. As noted by the Canadian
Global Affairs Institute, this occurred despite the fact that two
of the largest defence procurements in Canadian history – the
Canadian Surface Combatants (warships) project and the Future
Fighter Capability Program (fighter jets) – are in active
procurement mode, spending is falling short of forecast and roughly
70 per cent of the approved projects under the 2017 implementation
of the Strong, Secure, Engaged Defence Policy have seen
schedule delays 1.
Canadian defence procurement is a many-layered affair. Spread
across three departments and a central agency (the Department of
National Defence; Public Procurement and Services Canada;
Innovation, Science and Economic Development; and Treasury Board,
respectively), the need to coordinate and align this much
bureaucracy is often viewed as one of the significant problems in
defence procurement.
