Countering modern security threats

Letter to The Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, regarding Canada’s forthcoming National Security Strategy.

On behalf of the Business Council of Canada and the chief executives of Canada’s leading enterprises, I am writing to underscore the importance of ensuring that Canada’s forthcoming National Security Strategy reflects the increasingly economic nature of today’s security threats. In particular, we urge the Government of Canada to use this strategy to provide clear direction and sufficient resourcing to Canada’s security and intelligence community to foster deep and sustained partnerships with the Canadian business community.

As set out in the Council’s 2023 report Economic Security is National Security, economic security threats — ranging from foreign interference and cyberattacks to intellectual property theft and coercive trade practices — are growing in scale, frequency, and sophistication. These threats directly target the employees, assets, and operations of Canadian companies across a wide range of strategic sectors. The private sector is not only a frequent target of such activities but also a critical partner in building resilience and safeguarding Canada’s long-term prosperity.

Despite this, there remains no consistent, institutionalized framework for public-private collaboration on national security issues in Canada. By contrast, several of our allies and partners — including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia — have made meaningful strides in formalizing such collaboration, recognizing that economic and national security are now deeply intertwined.

Canada must catch up. The new National Security Strategy presents an important opportunity to embed public-private cooperation into our national security architecture. Specifically, we call on the Government to:

1. Direct the security and intelligence community to establish structured, long-term engagement mechanisms with the private sector—including intelligence-sharing arrangements, sector-specific risk assessments, and joint preparedness exercises.

2. Create or enhance dedicated liaison structures within government departments and agencies to serve as points of contact for companies facing real-time or emerging threats.

3. Properly resource Canada’s security and intelligence agencies to fulfill a broader public-facing mandate, including personnel, training, and technology investments that will enable regular and secure interaction with industry.

As Canada’s largest employers, traders, and investors in science and technology, the members of the Business Council of Canada are committed to supporting the Government’s efforts to strengthen national resilience. We are prepared to work collaboratively to identify vulnerabilities, share insights, and co-develop solutions that safeguard Canadians.

A modern National Security Strategy that recognizes and reflects the central role of the private sector in countering economic threats is essential. We urge you to seize this opportunity and chart a path that positions Canada to meet the complex challenges of today—and tomorrow.

We would welcome the opportunity to engage further with your office as the strategy is finalized and implemented.