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Attendees pass an image of the Bombardier Global 6500 Aircraft at the CANSEC trade show in Ottawa in 2023.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Ottawa is spending more than $900-million under its new Defence Industrial Strategy to bolster defence-related research and development in areas such as drones, quantum technologies and biological warfare countermeasures.
The announcement, made in Ottawa on Monday by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State Stephen Fuhr, further fleshes out commitments the government made in its defence strategy, which was released in February.
The funds will be spent by the National Research Council (NRC) through a variety of initiatives. This includes a Drone Innovation Hub, which will be established between Ottawa and Montreal’s Mirabel area and focus on testing both drone and counter-drone technologies. Approximately $500-million will go toward the hub, as well as the procurement of a new Bombardier Global 6500 jet to be used for defence research.
A new stream to assist Canadian businesses working on dual-use technologies, or products with both defence and civilian applications, will also be developed under the NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program. Ms. Joly previously announced this $244-million initiative in January as a way to help small-to-medium-sized businesses in Canada develop defence-related technologies and gain access to Canadian Armed Forces’ testing environments.
Research and development in the field of biomedical countermeasures, such as vaccines or diagnostics, was also included in Monday’s announcement. In 2026, the NRC launched a two-year Biomedical Countermeasures Initiative, to develop, test and manufacture diagnostic tools, vaccines and treatments domestically, to defend against biological threats.
According to the Defence Industrial Strategy, funding to establish and expand this sector within Canada will come through Ottawa’s Strategic Response Fund, formerly the Strategic Innovation Fund, and its Life Sciences Fund.
Quantum technologies were also highlighted in Monday’s announcement as a focus for defence-related research and development in Canada. The sector plays a key role in at least two of the ten sovereign capabilities Ottawa outlined in its new defence strategy, including sensors and digital systems such as computing and communications.
The federal government has repeatedly emphasized the importance of including quantum technologies in its defence capabilities and ensuring domestic companies seeing success in the sector remain rooted in Canada.
In February, the Department of National Defence singled out quantum technologies as one of two priority areas, alongside uncrewed systems, that it’s looking to develop through the establishment of its new Defence Innovation Secure Hubs, or high-security testing sites.
This $900-million investment counts toward Canada’s goal of spending 2 per cent of its GDP on defence this fiscal year, as part of Ottawa’s initial spending under its Defence Industrial Strategy.
