Due to overwhelming demand!

🍁 Politics in the Pub! The 2025 United States National Security Strategy

When: Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Where: The Sticky Wicket Pub, MAPLE ROOM, the Strathcona Hotel, 919 Douglas Street
For: This is a CIC member only event – no guest requests please
Time: 5 – 7:00 pm (doors open at 5 pm)
Speaker: Dr. Chris Kilford

Our focus:

In December 2025, the Trump administration released its new National Security Strategy (NSS), a congressionally mandated document described as a “roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history.” Almost immediately, Washington’s closest allies were left scratching their heads as they tried to determine what the new strategy actually meant for their and global security over the next three years and beyond.

Indeed, the new NSS places economic power, industrial capacity and sovereignty at the center of US national security policy, and is a major departure from the practice of, to quote from the strategy, “the days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas.” President Biden’s national security strategy, for example, framed US national interests more broadly, integrating democracy promotion, global stability and international institutions. Now that is apparently all gone and replaced, instead, with a conciliatory tone toward competitors such as China and Russia.

Our speaker will provide a deep dive into several aspects of President Trump’s new NSS and what it could mean for our, and overall, global security.

Our speaker:

Chris is a member of the national board of the CIC, the executive editor of CIC’s online foreign policy magazine Open Canada, president of the CIC Victoria branch and a sessional professor with the Canadian Forces College where he currently teaches a course focused on Canadian foreign and defence policy. He holds a PhD in history from Queen’s University with a focus on civil-military relations in the developing world.

Chris also enjoyed a 36-year career in the Canadian Army, commanding 4th Air Defence Regiment, followed by various senior positions in the Department of National Defence, including Director, Future Security Analysis and Military Liaison Officer to the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.

From July 2009 until July 2010, Chris deployed to Canada’s Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan as the Deputy Military Attaché. On his return to Canada, he commenced Turkish language training, after which he was sent to Canada’s Embassy in Ankara as the Canadian Defence Attaché with cross accreditation to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan. He was in this post from July 2011 until July 2014. Chris retired from the military in September 2014.

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To attend this event please email Roger Love at:

cicvicpip@gmail.com

The event is open to CIC members only. The cost to attend is $22.50, which will cover a first drink and a round of appetizers.

Confirmation of your registration along with payment instructions will be provided. If you are not able to attend after registering, your registration fee will be reimbursed if your place can be filled from a waiting list. If not, refunds cannot be given.