Canada Unveils Defence Industrial Strategy
Analysis based on 10 articles · First reported Feb 17, 2026 · Last updated Feb 18, 2026
The new Defence Industrial Strategy is expected to significantly boost Canada's domestic defence industry, leading to increased investment, job creation, and higher defence exports. This will likely have a positive impact on Canadian defence firms and related sectors, while also strengthening Canada's position within international alliances.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the nation's first-ever Defence Industrial Strategy, a $6.6-billion plan aimed at overhauling military procurement and bolstering the domestic defence industry. The strategy prioritizes Canadian firms for defence contracts, aiming to increase their share to 70% and create 125,000 jobs over the next decade. It also seeks to boost defence exports by 50% and increase defence-related research and development by 85%. Key initiatives include the creation of a new Defence Investment Agency to streamline procurement and a Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership (BOREALIS) for frontier technologies. Canada also committed to meeting NATO's (NATO) 2% GDP defence spending target by Spring 2026 and 5% by 2035. The plan emphasizes building sovereign capabilities, partnering with allies, and only buying from abroad as a last resort, with conditions for reinvestment in the Canadian economy. While industry groups like the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries welcomed the plan, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized it as 'buzzwords'.
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