South Korea’s robust defence sector disproves the notion that Canada is ‘too small’ to be a military power

It may sound overly simplistic to say all that Canada lacks is the 'mindset' necessary to become a military powerhouse. Surely, there must be more practical limitations?

Yet, history shows many 'insurmountable' limitations are easily overcome when necessity arises.

The 'impossible' becomes possible when it needs to be done. And notions of impossibility are often excuses, rather than hard limits.

Since the allocation of resources and personnel in any first-world democracy is ultimately decided more by the collective will of the populace than anything else, a nation's lack of military strength is ultimately a choice.

In the Canadian context, we can best understand this by looking at South Korea.

Compared to Canada, South Korea has many disadvantages.

South Korea is poorer in overall terms, with a GDP of about $1.9 trillion compared to Canada's 2.2 trillion. South Korea is poorer in per capita terms, at $36K vs $54K.

Canada is over 90 times larger than South Korea in land area, and while South Korea is dependent on imports for nearly all of its fuel and strategic resources, Canada has among the world's largest reserves of energy, critical minerals, water, timber, and more.