Building whole-of-society resilience in Canada: Harnessing multisectoral solutions to future challenges

Facing complex new threats, Canada has expressed interest in developing a whole-of-society approach to both national defence and disasters, similar to models implemented in Nordic states. But how could Canada adapt these Nordic models to work within its very different geographic, political, and demographic conditions? Our analysis develops a three-pillar framework for a Canadian adaptation: industrial integration, strengthened provincial and territorial emergency management systems, and enhanced community-level resilience. It evaluates the current strength of each pillar while identifying unique opportunities to build capacity. Building on insights from Sweden and Finland, the paper demonstrates that a made-in-Canada whole-of-society model is both feasible and necessary for long-term national resilience.