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Justin Trudeau’s paddle about in a canoe seems to be as close as we’ll come this election to hearing much from the Liberals about the navy.

This isn’t surprising, exactly, for several reasons. But it sure does make a change from 2015 — but then again, given how radically different the Liberal effort is this time, I suppose that’s not much of a shock, either.

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Back in 2015, the navy came in for some special attention in the Liberal platform. The Liberals campaigned on not purchasing the F-35 fighter jet for the Royal Canadian Air Force, contrary to the Conservative plan, and said they’d direct that money instead to the Royal Canadian Navy, which was in desperate need of new ships to replace an aging fleet. There was a whole little subsection in their 2015 platform, titled “We will make investing in the Royal Canadian Navy a top priority.”

“By purchasing more affordable alternatives to the F-35s,” the platform pledged, “we will be able to invest in strengthening our Navy, while also meeting the commitments that were made as part of the National Shipbuilding and Procurement Strategy. Unlike Stephen Harper, we will have the funds that we need to build promised icebreakers, supply ships, arctic and offshore patrol ships, surface combatants, and other resources required by the Navy.”