Feds announce nearly $1 billion for domestic defence innovation, including Bombardier aircraft

As the federal government seeks to bolster its domestic defence industry, Industry Minister Melanie Joly announced more than $900 million for defence innovation in Canada, including money for drone technology and a new Bombardier aircraft.

Joly made the announcement in Ottawa on Monday at the National Research Council (NRC), alongside National Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Stephen Fuhr.

The funding is part of the federal government’s new defence industrial strategy unveiled in February, which pledged $6.6 billion over five years to prioritize homegrown production, double Canada’s defence exports, and create 125,000 new jobs over the decade.

The money will be invested through the NRC to grow domestic capacity in drone and aerospace technologies. More than $500 million will be put towards acquiring a new Canadian-built Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft that will be used for defence-related technology development and creating a Drone Innovation Hub in Ottawa and Montreal.

Other initiatives include launching a Biomedical Countermeasures Initiative to accelerate and develop sovereign capacity for tools like vaccines and therapeutics, and support for Canadian businesses that are developing dual-use technology, referring to tools that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

There will also be $161 million over five years for quantum technology development.

“We are living in a much more chaotic and dangerous world and we know that national security and economic security really go hand in hand,” Joly said while speaking to the media.

Joly also pointed to the NRC, which was established during the First World War, in June 1916, and the organization’s contribution to “national war efforts” during the Second World War.

“We’ve done it before, we can do it again,” Joly said.

Asked by reporters how many jobs are linked to the more than $900 million investment, Joly couldn’t provide an answer but insisted “jobs will be created.”

“In the $900 million, there is definitely the Bombardier aircraft, which will create jobs itself in Ontario, in Quebec, but also at Cascade in B.C.,” Joly said.

Investments under the defence industrial strategy are part of Canada’s larger commitment to spend two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2025-26.