Ottawa’s defence-industrial machine had a busy day in Toronto. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty wrapped a string of meetings with pension fund leaders and defence industry reps, pushing forward Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy and the capital flows meant to back it.
WHY IT MATTERS
- Six months into its $6 billion Defence Platform, the Business Development Bank of Canada has already backed 130 Canadian SMEs, doubling the value of loans and investments on its books and closing in on $1 billion.
- Export Development Canada has provided roughly $2 billion in financing and insurance support to defence and security companies since expanding its sector focus in 2025, including $1.1 billion to more than 60 companies in 2026 alone.
- McGuinty also convened Canada’s largest pension funds and federal partners to talk strategic defence and dual-use infrastructure projects, signaling Ottawa wants institutional capital, not just government dollars, in the mix.
- The push feeds into the first-ever Canada Investment Summit, aimed at drawing global investors and CEOs into nation-building projects.
BY THE NUMBERS
- $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities and $290 billion in defence-related infrastructure opportunities over the next decade.
- $125 billion in anticipated downstream economic benefit by 2035.
- 125,000 high-paying careers targeted, alongside a 50% increase in defence exports and 240% growth in Canadian defence industry revenues.
- Fleet serviceability targets: 75% maritime, 80% land, 85% aerospace within 10 years.
- Today’s defence sector already supports 62,100 jobs, $17.3 billion in revenues and $8.6 billion in GDP contribution, with R&D spending of $477 million in 2024, three times the intensity of Canadian manufacturing overall.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
McGuinty framed the strategy as central to Canada’s broader rebuild-and-rearm posture, tying industrial capacity directly to sovereignty and resilience.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu both emphasized the jobs and global competitiveness angle, with Sidhu pointing specifically to unlocking capital, expertise and markets for Canadian firms.
EDC’s Alison Nankivell and BDC’s Isabelle Hudon both flagged the same underlying problem the strategy is meant to solve: Canadian SMEs still struggle to access capital and navigate complex defence supply chains, even as demand grows.
BOTTOM LINE: This is Ottawa trying to prove its defence-industrial strategy is more than a policy document, by getting BDC, EDC, pension funds and industry in the same room and pointing to early numbers as evidence it’s working.