Canada’s military-industrial complex is deeply embedded in the fabric of the country: Silent Partners reveals its origins and influence.

During the Cold War, Canada’s military, industrial, and political partnerships developed behind the scenes and without much public scrutiny. Silent Partners explores Canada’s history of leveraging military and defence expenditures to fund domestic industries, bolster employment, and support science and technology. Military and defence spending have affected Canada in myriad ways, from demography and geography, to political economy and international relations, in uneven patterns of prosperity and decline. The contributions in this volume explore the environmental impacts of military activities and munitions production, the ethical issues of human experimentation and military testing, and the economic and political implications of procurement and arms exports. Silent Partners is an illuminating examination of Canada’s military-industrial complex from a historical perspective.

Alex Souchen's profile page

Matthew S. Wiseman's profile page

Alex Souchen is an assistant professor at the University of Guelph, cross-appointed between the Department of History and the Bachelor of Arts and Science Program. He is the author of War Junk: Munitions Disposal and Postwar Reconstruction in Canada, which won an honorable mention for the 2020–21 C.P. Stacey Award for the best book in the field of Canadian military history.

Matthew S. Wiseman is a lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Waterloo. He previously held a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at St. Jerome’s University and is the editor of The Selected Works of George R. Lindsey: Operational Research, Strategic Studies, and Canadian Defence in the Cold War.