Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:
It's in the new breed of Liberals DNA to cancel everything military the Conservatives may have implemented. So, this should come as no surprise given that every Liberal PM since Trudeau the senior seems to think cancelling military contracts, even ones their predecessors paid buckets of money to participate in is the best way to win votes and protect Canada.
Oh please, defence spending has been screwed up for decades, and the blame falls on every government since Pearson.
Trudeau cannot claim much success on the defence portfolio aside from ordering another slushbreaker, new SAR aircraft and new rifles for the Canadian Rangers (if the last one is even a success is debateable).
Harper was quick to promise all sorts of stuff for the CAF, and then reneged when he got the bill. His per capita spending on defence in many years while he was PM was actually lower than Chretien during the so-called 'Decade of darkness' and the lowest spending since before WW2 was in 2013 and 2014 under Harper, at a measly 1.0% of GDP!
Remember Harper's "three heavy armed icebreakers" promise from 2006? Instead, he ordered five medium icebreakers with next to no weaponry, and Trudeau's Liberals added a sixth to the order. Harper's Canada First Defence Plan was so screwed up that NONE of its signature systems were ordered before they left office in 2015. They dithered on the JSS while our AORs were falling apart, they didn't get new DDHs even on the drawing board after a decade in office, and they didn't order new fighters, despite that being a 2011 election promise.
Harper wasn't a complete failure, buying new artillery and tanks for the Army, and CC-117 and CC-130J transport aircraft and Chinook heavy lift helos for the Air Force. The Navy however, got nothing, just decommissioned DDHs and AORs.
Chretien before him cancelled the EH-101s and cut spending on defence, cashing in a huge peace dividend when the troops came home from Europe (about $1 Billion/year IIRC), and also sold off the Chinook helos. Despite his cuts, he grudgingly ordered the LAVs, Griffon helos, MCDVs, and one of the worst purchases in Canadian military hisory (up there with the Ross Rifle) - the Victoria SSK subs.
Mulroney was like Harper and promised big in 1988 and then balked at the bill, and bought almost nothing from his 1987 White Paper on Defence. His one saving grace was that he ordered an additional six Halifax frigates for the Navy.
Trudeau Senior made all sorts of disasterous decisions for the Forces (cutting spending to under 2.0 % most years, getting rid of HMCS Bonaventure and unification are prime examples), but at least he bought new tanks, fighters, destroyers, frigates and other weapons systems often enough to keep our NATO allies somewhat happy. His per capita spending was MUCH higher than Harper's and only a little lower than Mulroney's.
The last PM who didn't drop the ball on defence was Pearson, and that's probably because he lived through WW2 and knew that the cost of war was far higher than preventing it by being ready for one.
CKA Uber 
