Minister McGuinty brings together industry and investment leaders to accelerate Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy
News release
July 28, 2026 – Toronto, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
In an increasingly uncertain world, Canada is focused on what we can control: rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to safeguard that they have the capabilities needed to secure our sovereignty. The Defence Industrial Strategy builds up Canada’s defence industrial base by prioritizing Canadian suppliers and materials, investing in Canadian innovation and commercialization, and streamlining procurement to give businesses consistent and predictable demand.
Today, the Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence concluded a series of engagements in Toronto with pension fund leaders and Canadian defence industry representatives to advance Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy and strengthen Canada's defence industrial base.
Minister McGuinty joined representatives from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Export Development Canada (EDC), and Canada's defence industry to discuss progress under Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy. Minister McGuinty highlighted the significant progress already being made under the Defence Industrial Strategy. Six months after launching its $6 billion Defence Platform, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has supported 130 Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, doubling the value of loans and investments on its books and quickly closing in on nearly $1 billion. The rapid deployment of a dedicated team of top-level CAF leaders and experts, coupled with deep engagement across the defence ecosystem, has helped accelerate this work. Since expanding its support for the defence and security sector in 2025, Export Development Canada (EDC) has provided approximately $2 billion in financing and insurance-related support to defence and security companies, including $1.1 billion to more than 60 companies in 2026 alone.
The Minister and representatives from BDC and EDC discussed how early investments under the Defence Industrial Strategy are already helping Canadian companies grow, innovate, and compete globally. These engagements build on the Ministers previous roundtable discussions with industry and stakeholders demonstrating Canada’s commitment to strengthening its defence industrial base by bringing together government, industry and financial partners to support national security and long-term economic prosperity. These discussions also support Canada’s broader efforts to attract global investment ahead of the first-ever Canada Investment Summit, which will bring together the world’s leading investors, CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders to explore opportunities that will help advance nation-building projects, create good jobs and grow Canada’s economy.
Minister McGuinty also hosted a roundtable discussion with senior representatives from Canada’s largest pension funds and federal partners focused on Canada's defence priorities and opportunities to support strategic defence and dual-use projects, including large-scale infrastructure initiatives. Participants had a productive discussion on opportunities to strengthen collaboration between government and Canada's pension funds in support of Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy.
Quotes
“As Canada rebuilds, rearms and reinvests in our national defence, we are also investing in the industries, workers and innovators who make that possible. Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy is helping Canadian companies access the capital and partnerships they need to grow, compete globally and deliver the capabilities our Armed Forces require. A stronger defence industrial base means a stronger Canada—more secure, more resilient and better positioned to succeed in an increasingly uncertain world."
- The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence
“A strong defence industry helps keep Canadians safe while creating high-quality jobs and economic opportunities. Through engagement with pension funds and defence industry leaders, we are helping mobilize the investment needed to grow Canada’s defence industrial base and support long-term prosperity.”
- The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
“By bringing together institutional investors, industry leaders, and federal partners to advance Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, we are helping Canadian firms access the capital, expertise and markets they need to grow. This collaboration strengthens our economic resilience, supports high-quality jobs, and positions Canadian businesses to compete and succeed globally.”
- The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade
“As Canada's export credit agency, EDC provides the financing, risk-sharing solutions and international market expertise that help Canadian defence and security companies diversify their exports and succeed in partner markets. Through collaboration with Canada’s venture capital community, pension funds and our government partners, we can leverage complementary strengths to help Canadian companies access the capital they need to scale, innovate and seize opportunities.”
- Alison Nankivell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Export Development Canada (EDC)
"Canada’s defence sector is entering a new strategic era, and SMEs are at the heart of this transformation. BDC put its ear to the ground, listened to businesses, investors, financial partners, and collaborated closely with key associations to inform how we built and refined our Defence Platform. This work continues today, because we know that entrepreneurs aligned to the sector still face unique challenges in accessing capital and navigating complex supply chains.”
- Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
Quick facts
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The Defence Industrial Strategy, Security, Sovereignty and Prosperity, launched on February 17, 2026, positions Canadian industry to take advantage of $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities and $290 billion in defence-related infrastructure opportunities in Canada over the next 10 years, with an anticipated $125 billion downstream economic benefit by 2035.
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A strong defence industry enhances Canada's defence and security, supports economic growth, and creates high-quality jobs across the country. The Defence Industrial Strategy will create 125,000 high-paying careers, increase our defence exports by 50%, and grow Canadian defence industry revenues by 240%. Within a decade, we will raise maritime fleet serviceability to 75%, land fleets to 80%, and aerospace fleets to 85% to bolster Canadian defence.
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Canada’s defence sector is an important contributor to the economy supporting a total of 62,100 jobs across the defence value chain. These companies generated $17.3 billion in revenues that same year and contributed $8.6 billion to GDP across the defence value chain.
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The Canadian defence sector is one of the most research and development-intensive, spending over $477 million in 2024, with the vast majority invested by the industry itself. It is three times as research and development intensive as Canadian manufacturing overall, and its share of employees in high-end science, technology, engineering, and mathematics jobs is more than 2.5 times as great.
Associated links
Contacts
Alice Hansen
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: alice.hansen2@forces.gc.ca
Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca
EDC Media Contact
Export Development Canada
Phone: 1-888-222-4065
Email: media@edc.ca
BDC Media Contact
Business Development Bank of Canada
Email: phil.taylor@bdc.ca