MND Message: Canada launches its first Defence Industrial Strategy

February 17 2026 - Defence Stories

Estimated read time: 2:08

Colleagues,

As the world faces a new era of global complexity, the work we do together has never mattered more. Today’s launch of Security, Sovereignty, and Prosperity: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy marks a turning point, not only for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), but for the entire Defence Team and the Canadian companies that equip and sustain us.

As we rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces, Canada is taking bold steps to strengthen Canada’s defence industry and build the foundations of a more resilient and enduring defence industrial base. Going forward, we will use procurement to build and maintain sovereign capabilities, grow Canada’s defence industrial base, and support domestic defence suppliers. With this strategy, we will place Canadian workers, innovators, and businesses at the centre of a generational effort to reinforce our security and operational readiness.

The economic impact is significant. By 2035, the strategy aims to create an estimated 125,000 new jobs, increase defence exports by 50 percent, and expand the share of defence acquisitions awarded to Canadian firms by 70 percent. These are not abstract numbers, they represent new opportunities for Canadian researchers, manufacturers, and the communities that depend on them to contribute directly to Canada’s security.

Budget 2025 committed $6.6 billion over five years, including $2.1 billion in 2025–26, to accelerate this work. These investments will help Canadian companies innovate, strengthen supply chains, and build the industrial base needed to better equip and sustain the Canadian Armed Forces and our Allies and partners.

The strategy is built on five pillars to guide this transformation:

• Renewing the Government of Canada’s relationship with industry
• Procuring through a new Defence Investment Agency and a “Build‑Partner‑Buy” framework
• Investing purposefully in an innovative Canadian defence sector
• Securing supply chains for critical goods and materials
• Working with partners across Canada, including in the North and the Arctic

For the Defence Team, this strategy reinforces the importance of the work we do every day. It strengthens the foundation on which our operational readiness depends and changes how the capabilities you rely on are planned for, built, and sustained. It supports a modern, innovative defence ecosystem that will serve Canadians for decades to come.

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy is a moment of renewal for the Defence Team,  for Canadian industry, and for the prosperity of the country. Together, we are building a more resilient, more capable, and more prosperous Canada.

Thank you for your continued dedication and service. I am excited to see the results we will achieve together.