As fears of war with Russia mount, Canadian military’s limits to be tested: experts

Asked when Canada will deploy another frigate and CP-140 on Operation Neon, Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said no date had yet been set.

The Canadian military’s limits are set to be tested, experts say, with trade-offs likely needed to offset the deployment of hundreds of additional troops to reinforce the NATO military alliance’s confrontation with Russia in eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada will deploy an additional 460 Canadian troops to help NATO in its standoff with Russia, including an artillery unit, a naval frigate and a surveillance aircraft.

The pledge came days after Defence Minister Anita Anand acknowledged concerns about stretching the military too far given its numerous existing commitments at home and abroad, aging equipment and a growing shortage of personnel.

Retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, who previously served as vice-chief of the defence staff, said he has “no doubt the Canadian Armed Forces is strained” from all its competing demands in Ukraine, Latvia and elsewhere.

And while there may be some flexibility, Thibault said the emergence of the crisis in eastern Europe as Canada’s top international commitment means other missions “may well need to be reassessed as we look at what can be sustained.”

The deployment of a second frigate to Europe, where Canada already has one positioned on a more or less permanent basis, will almost certainly put additional pressure on the navy, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

That’s because the navy is dealing with a shortage of about 1,000 sailors at the same time as Canada’s 12 Halifax-class frigates are starting to show their advanced age, with part of the fleet in dock for maintenance and upgrades at any given time.

“We only have five or six of them at any given time that are really able to deploy internationally ? so that’s a big chunk of our fleet, especially when we’re still trying to send two frigates each year over to Asia,” Perry said of basing two frigates in Europe.