Defense Strategy, Global Tension & Investor Implications
In this episode of the Pender Podcast, Laura Baker, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, is joined by Retired Vice Admiral Mark Norman to discuss Canada’s evolving defense landscape and why it matters in today’s geopolitical and investment environment. Drawing on decades of military leadership and policy experience, the conversation explores defense readiness, procurement challenges, Arctic security, and the growing intersection between national security, technology, and capital markets.
3:22
The current state of Canada’s defense readiness and why it has become a renewed priority.
5:54
How today’s geopolitical environment differs from the past and why complacency is no longer an option.
11:40
Canada’s defense spending commitments and what increased budgets actually mean in practice.
13:55
Long-term underinvestment in defense: personnel shortages, aging equipment, and operational strain.
19:00
Why defense procurement is slow and complex and the structural barriers to reform.
20:20
Signs of progress: where procurement processes are improving and where challenges remain.
23:15
The role of the private sector in defense modernization and innovation.
29:40
Arctic security and sovereignty: strategic, economic, and geopolitical implications for Canada.
32:10
The intersection of national security and capital markets.
35:00
How investors should think about defense as a long-term structural theme.
