This is What Happened with this year’s Halifax Security Forum
The sixteenth edition of the Halifax International Security Forum happened this past weekend from November 22 to 24.
Run by HFX, an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, DC., the forum’s mission is to strengthen strategic cooperation among the world’s democracies by bringing together global leaders from government, military, business and academia with media.
300 participants from 60 countries around the world gathered in Halifax this year to address the world’s most pressing security issues, including Canada’s Defense Minister, Bill Blair, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly.
Here’s what happened with this year’s Halifax International Security Forum:
hfx released two contrasting agendas for the first time
Back in October, HFX released two starkly different agendas for the 2024 Security Forum: “New Eras Arrive” and “Dark Eras Arrive.” In doing so, they aimed to draw attention to November as a pivotal moment in history where the choices made will have profound consequences.
As HFX President Peter Van Praagh put it, “everything is at stake.” The first agenda, “New Eras Arrive,” signalled toward the possibility for choosing unity and optimism by standing together in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The second agenda, “Dark Eras Arrive,” pointed to the dark, dangerous era of violence and war that would result from the contrasting choice of division.
In early November, HFX released its topical agenda and ultimately went with “2025: New Eras Arrive” for this year’s forum.
Canada Continues to get Pushback on military spending
U.S. Republican Senator James Risch drew attention to Canada’s continued failure to spend 2% of its GDP on military spending — the threshold agreed to by the 32 NATO countries.**
Defense Minister Bill Blair noted that Canada knows it needs to increase defence spending and is in the process of doing so. He pointed to Canada’s buying a fleet of up to 12 new submarines and its commitment this past July to meet the NATO quota by 2032 as evidence that action is being taken.
Blair also said that there are other ways Canada might “accelerate” spending, but that it’s important to ensure “good value” is gained from these investments.
the stakes of the russia-ukraine war
Various panels discussed how the world has become an increasingly dangerous place as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.* A recurring theme of this year’s forum was that if Russia defeats Ukraine, other authoritarian states will be further emboldened to act in ways that violate other democracies.
“Our continued support for Ukraine remains imperative,” Taiwan’s former president, Tsai Ing-wen said in her speech, “as a Ukrainian victory will serve as the most effective deterrence against future aggression.”
top canadian general defends the role of women in combat
Canadian General Jennie Carignan — who is also chief of the defence staff — pushed back at Senator Risch’s comments that the “jury is still out” on dealing with the “unique situations” that arise from having women in combat.* Risch was responding to former military officer and Fox News commentator Peter Hegseth’s opposition to allowing women in fighting units.
Carignan addressed the comments by stating that she “wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that women are a distraction to defence and national security.”
“After 39 years of career as a combat arms officer and risking my life in many operations around the world,” she continued, “I can’t believe that in 2024 we still have to justify the contribution of women … in the service of their country.”
Carignan received a standing ovation for her remarks.
ipsos and the halifax security forum release their 2024 world affairs report
In advance of the forum, IPSOS interviewed over 22,000 adults in 30 countries to examine global attitudes towards conflicts and threats to the world. Their 2024 report was recently released with some key findings:
Disinformation worry is on high, with 76% of people saying that the spread of disinformation is a real threat to the world today.
Canada is viewed as the country most likely to have a positive influence on world affairs over the next day, receiving 79% of the vote for top spot (Iran remains in the bottom spot with only 25% of people saying it will have a positive influence).
Hacking ties disinformation as the number one threat for 2024, with 76% of people saying it is a real concern.
69% of people now think a major natural disaster in their country is a threat (compared to 58% in 2015).
Fears about World War III have actually dropped, with 63% of people — compared to 70% a year ago — expecting a worldwide conflict between now and 2074.
The proportion of people who think things are getting better — rather than worse — has gone down 9 points since the question was first asked in 2017. That being said a majority of people in all 30 countries said that democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are universal values that all nations deserve and can aspire to.
Lead Photo: Halifax International Security Forum
*Sourced from Canadian Press journalist Michael Tutton’s article, “Canada’s top general takes on U.S. senator in defending womens’ role in combat units”
** Sourced from Michael Tutton’s article “Halifax security forum: United States senator questions Canada’s military spending