Has Trudeau's leadership crippled the Canadian Armed Forces beyond repair?
'I've been watching, with absolute horror, what's happened to our military over the past 9 years, and, like many veterans, I have found it completely unacceptable,' says David Redman, author of the essay 'Unfit for Duty.'
GUEST: David Redman on his essay critiquing the Canadian military.
BECOME A MEMBER
Tonight, can the Canadian Armed Forces be revived after Trudeau has tried to destroy them? A feature conversation with writer and veteran David Redman.
2025 is gonna be a year of great change in Canada. Donald Trump is back as president, and what America does always echoes around the world, especially in Canada.
One of Trump's major beefs, stretching back to his first term, is that many NATO countries have not been carrying their load.
We remember the dramatic meetings when he would fly to Europe, gather the NATO leaders, and scold them. In a way, they seemed to like it. They liked that America was demanding that they live up to their promises.
Trudeau didn't do as well. He took it personally. There was a great interaction between Trump and Trudeau back in Trump's first term when he asked Trudeau what percentage of Canada's GDP was being spent on defence. Trump calls him out in a way that no Canadian journalist had dared to before.
Well, things are even worse now. It won't surprise you to hear that, though Trudeau has certainly made headlines for his bold support of Ukraine during the Russian-Ukraine war, our military is not up to standard.
This rings true, especially realizing that Canada did not participate in a major NATO exercise this year. The reason is that we can't keep up with the countries that have F-35s, F-22s, F-16s, and F-15s. Our old CF-18s don't do the job anymore.
So what will happen in Canada if, as every poll suggests, Pierre Poilievre becomes the new prime minister? Will he rebuild the armed forces — not just in terms of equipment and payment but in terms of moral support, giving them a proper mission, and not just using them as a press release?
Joining the show tonight is David Redman. For 27 years he served in the Canadian Armed Forces before moving on to other public service careers, including acting as an emergency preparedness officer in the Alberta government. He recently published a lengthy essay in the C2C Journal entitled "Unfit for Duty."
COMMENTS
-
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-01-01 16:38:14 -0500Bruce:
The Canadian military started declining before Pierre Trudeau started chipping away at it. Perhaps it began when when the Avro Arrow was cancelled, though I’m sure that some may argue that the decline was as a result of the Arrow’s high development costs. Don’t forget that, back then, the RCN had an aircraft carrier (HMCS Bonaventure) and, a few years later, the sub-chasing hydrofoil HMCS Bras d’Or. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2025-01-01 15:25:56 -0500It sure will take some sacrificing to get our military back into working order. Trudeau and his Libranos have destroyed so much of it and Canada in general. Snidely Whiplash could only dream of the destruction Trudeau caused. And as the leader, so goes the country. Pierre Poilievre will have to have a resolve of tempered steel to fix Canada. Politicians sure are termites. They do their destruction in the dark and they serve terms.
-
bernie mccluskey commented 2025-01-01 15:24:12 -0500trudeau should be in prison what a traitor
-
Colin Cramton commented 2025-01-01 10:42:36 -0500Tampons in the Mens Room; Urinals in the Womens?
-
David Heinze commented 2025-01-01 01:37:23 -0500Great show. I believe David was actually the head of Alberta’s Emergency services. I am not sure if it was after or near the end of the Pandemic, he wrote an exceptional paper, about 100 pages on the tragic response of our governments. He has been a regular presenter at the Freedom Talk conferences and would be a great addition to the Rebel Cruise and to the Rebel Live in Calgary.
-
Wayne Currie commented 2025-01-01 00:08:57 -0500Pretty prescient quote by Mr. Redman – “Every country has an army: theirs or someone else’s”.
-
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2024-12-31 22:13:24 -0500To answer the question in the headline, yes.
-
Ruth Bard commented 2024-12-31 22:04:36 -0500The amount Trudeau has wasted on vacations, junkets, and catering would probably be enough to restore the military and then some.
-
Bruce Atchison commented 2024-12-31 21:10:08 -0500Canada must separate from Trudeau. He’s the one destroying the country. And leftists like him don’t understand human nature. Unguarded land never remains unguarded. China and Russia would love to have all the minerals we have in the Arctic. Human nature is basically evil and those who think we’re all born good will continually be disappointed. Good point too about Daddy Trudeau being destructive to Canada. Junior Justin Trudeau wants to top his destructive father’s record. Canada was great and a good leader like Poilievre will make it great again. Trudeau’s making Canada grate.
-
Bernie Moore commented 2024-12-31 21:03:29 -0500The absolute only defence a Canadian has is his own fire arms and this lunatic is trying to take them
-
Bernie Moore commented 2024-12-31 20:48:22 -0500If I write what I believe both the Rebel and I would end up in Jail with these lunatics pushing thoings like Bill C63 and SOGI
