A month ago, the Liberal government was looking to cut defence spending by $2.5 billion over the next three years. Yet such austerity was off the table on Monday, when it released its updated defence policy, which pledges $73 billion over the next 20 years.

It is an ambitious policy that puts focus on the Arctic, shows a determined commitment to meeting the NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence and puts in some solid work on creating a framework for building a more resilient military.