Is it time for a Canadian Civil Defence Corps?

Name: Is it time for a Canadian Civil Defence Corps?
Start: 2025-11-25T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-11-25T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Canadian Forces College

Schedule

Tue Nov 25 2025 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Canadian Forces College | Toronto, ON

CIC Toronto and the NATO Association of Canada host a panel discussion on whether the time has come for a civil defence corps in Canada.
About this Event

The Canadian International Council's Toronto Branch and the NATO Association of Canada are delighted to invite you to attend a panel discussion on whether the time has come for a civil defence corps in Canada, taking place on Tuesday, November 25 at 6:00 PM at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Canadians confront a turbulent world that demands collective resilience and preparedness in the face of state-led disinformation campaigns, extreme weather events and looming geopolitical threats. What lessons do countries like Sweden offer for Canada in training large numbers of citizens in civil defence so that society continues to function in challenging circumstances? How do we make Canadians resilient in the face of influence campaigns and state-led grey zone tactics? What are the lessons we can learn from Canada's experience with civil defence during the Cold War?

About the speakers:

Peter MacLeod, is the founder and principal of MASS LBP, and one of Canada's leading experts in public engagement and deliberative democracy. In March, he authored “Canada Needs a New Civil Defence Corps” in The Tyee.

Juliana Haras has been with the Government of Canada since 2005. Her work in the global affairs and defence portfolios has focused on assessing the strategic behaviour of hostile states and providing advice on deterrence policy. She is the author of .

Andrew Burtch, is Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University, the Canadian War Museum’s post-1945 historian and author of Give Me Shelter: The Failure of Canada’s Cold War Civil Defence, winner of the 2012 CP Stacey Award for military history.

Moderator:

Nirupama Agrawal, PhD, Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management, founding faculty at York University's Disaster and Emergency Management, and an adjunct professor at the United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health.