Who's who of Canadian sea power at UCalgary this week

Canada is facing “emerging maritime threats” given the upended world order, bad actors around the globe and the new, uncertain relationship with the U.S. 

“There's an understanding that we are entering into a very dangerous environment and we need to be prepared,” says Rob Huebert, PhD, director of UCalgary’s Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS) and professor of political science in the Faculty of Arts. 

“Before, we could at least assume the Americans ultimately had our back, and that even if we were a bit of free rider, the Americans would always be there,” he says. “Trump has totally upended any such assumptions, and the whole question about his relationship with the Russians have further complicated our efforts.”

This new stark reality for Canada’s maritime security will be examined in depth Sept 26 – 27 at the Canadian Seapower 2025 Conference at UCalgary, hosted by the CMSS and the Canadian Maritime Security Network. 

Canadian sea power leaders attending 

“We have the who's who of anyone who's dealing with Canadian sea power,” says Huebert, including keynotes from the Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, the head of the Royal Canadian Navy and Mario Pelletier, the Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard. Other attendees include senior former and current military leaders, ship builders and academics and experts from across Canada. 

“We're excited to be bringing in all these people. We're trying to expand the circle of who is  engaged on these discussions,” says Huebert. “You get the most fulsome understanding when you open these discussions to the greater community of experts. There's been a void, and we're filling that void by providing the ability to have the community.”

Specifically, the attendees will discuss how the Canadian Navy can employ technology including drones and artificial intelligence that the Ukrainians are using against Russia. “When we watch the Ukrainians successfully sink one of the largest Russian warships in the Black Sea, that tells you something in terms of trying to get on top of technologies,” he says.

The attendees will also discuss the state of the Canadian fleet and the new, long list of vessels to be built including destroyers, submarines and patrol vessels. “I'm still concerned that we may be building these vessels too late,” says Huebert. “Whether we will be able to go ahead with all these commitments in time to start deterring our enemies becomes the question that nobody has an answer to at this point. But better late than never.”

Conference signals ambitions in Canadian security

The sea power conference is the third in a series of recent security conferences hosted by CMSS at UCalgary. Last year, a conference explored the Royal Canadian Air Force and earlier this year, experts gathered on campus to talk about cyber threats. Huebert says CMSS is planning more conferences to expand expertise and lead conversations on crucial issues facing Canada. 

“We are preparing right now for a land power conference that will be in the spring. We are also putting together a critical mineral conference to understand how that is a major issue facing Canada,” he says. “We want to position ourselves as the leader of thought discussions on these terrible but necessary discussions for Canadian security.”