FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KINGSTON, ON – 19 November 2025 / General Jennie Carignan argued that Canada must do more to recognize the significance of the maritime domain within Canadian security. She was the opening keynote speaker at the 2025 Kingston Consortium for International Security conference, where she addressed an international audience of academic researchers, military leaders, and defence policy practitioners. “We are a maritime nation, and we have not been acting as such,” Gen. Carignan said. “The ability to defend our territory–including the farthest reaches of our North–is essential to our security, to our prosperity, and most importantly to our sovereignty. This mission begins at sea.”
General Carignan called for an increased presence in the Arctic, including improved maritime domain awareness, engagement with Coast Guard, and integration of land, sea, air, cyber, and space operations.
“Our geography is no longer a defence, no barrier to attack from adversaries, state or non-state,” she said.
Dr. Michael Murphy, Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy, said “We are in a new era of Canadian defence policy, with increasing government spending and a broader mission across multiple domains of engagement. General Carignan’s call for greater emphasis on maritime security signals the important role that the Royal Canadian Navy and the Coast Guard will play in the coming years.”
The Kingston Consortium for International Security 2025 conference theme is “Securing the Seas.” The conference is hosted by the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University, and consortium partners include the US Naval War College, Canadian Defence and Security Network, the Security Studies Institute at the US Army War College, and the NATO Defence College.
About CIDP: The Centre for International and Defence Policy, established in 1975 as the Queen's Centre for International Relations under the directorship of Nils Ørvik, and renamed in 2011, has a mandate to conduct research in matters of national and international security and other aspects of international relations. It supports teaching in the field of security and defence and, through its publications and activities of its members, contributes to public debate on Canadian foreign and defence policy, and on issues of international peace and security.
About KCIS: The Kingston Consortium on International Security, through its annual conference and curated digital content, informs debate and advances knowledge in the field of international security and defence, providing in-depth analysis, with perspectives from universities, government, the armed forces, NGOs, and the private sector. KCIS is administered by the CIDP at Queen’s University.
About Gen. Carignan: A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada in Engineering, General Jennie Carignan was commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers in 1990. Since then, she commanded two Combat Engineer Regiments, Royal Military College Saint-Jean and the 2nd Canadian Division, where she led more than 10,000 soldiers and spearheaded crisis operations during the flood relief efforts in the spring of 2019 in Quebec. More recently, she led NATO Mission Iraq from November 2019 to November 2020. Gen Carignan participated in three previous expeditionary operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Golan Heights, and Afghanistan. From 2021 to 2024, Gen Carignan was appointed Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture. Gen Carignan was promoted to her current rank in July 2024 and appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff.