Frequently asked questions - Canadian Defence Industry Resilience Program

Managed by the Department of National Defence (DND), the Canadian Defence Industry Resilience (CDIR) Program supports the defence of Canada and safety of Canadians. The program will provide funding to Canadian businesses to increase their production capacity for the development of defence-related sovereign capabilities and critical supply chain vulnerabilities. The CDIR Program aligns with federal priorities, including the Buy Canada Policy , which promotes the use of Canadian goods and services in government-supported initiatives.

The objectives of the program are to support the defence of Canada by:

• supporting the Canadian defence industry to expand domestic production capability and capacity of goods and services, component parts and raw material, including critical minerals, important to the Canadian industry
• improving the resiliency of the Canadian industry supply chain for component parts and raw material, including critical minerals

The funding that will be available to the Canadian defence industry through the CDIR is also expected to help create skilled jobs for Canadian workers for the long term and generate economic benefits for Canadian communities.

Eligible recipients are corporations incorporated pursuant to the laws of Canada proposing to carry on business in Canada or a General or Limited Partnership established pursuant to the laws of Canada proposing to carry on business in Canada and meeting the eligibility criteria.

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

The CDIR Program supports the defence of Canada and safety of Canadians by providing targeted support to Canadian businesses to increase their production capacity for defence-related goods, equipment, services and materials. Those projects that meet the following objectives could be eligible under the CDIR Program:  

• support Canadian defence industry to expand production capability and capacity of goods and services, component parts and raw material, including critical minerals, important to the sovereign industry 
• support Centres of Excellence, such as those in the Munitions Supply Program, to expand domestic production capacity and support the defence of Canada 
• improve sovereign industry supply chain resiliency for component parts and raw material, including critical minerals 

These objectives are consistent with the Government of Canada Buy Canada Policy, reinforcing the commitment to prioritize Canadian content and domestic capabilities in defence-related projects.

Eligible activities include the following: 

• enhance existing and introduce new production capabilities 
• maintain Canadian companies as defence goods Centres of Excellence 
• support activities, such as: 
  • supply chain improvements 
  • increased Canadianization in alignment with the Buy Canada Policy, applicants are encouraged to maximize Canadian content in all eligible activities 
  • maintaining surge capacity 
  • sustaining production readiness 
  • new capabilities design and construction (equipment and infrastructure)  
  • existing capability sustainment / site modernizations (equipment and infrastructure) 
  • centre of excellence maintenance / workforce retention 
  • introduction of existing defence goods designs into the domestic industry 
  • advanced development and commercialization (industry intellectual property) 
  • federal/provincial policy driven improvements   
  • readiness to produce program (industry owned) 
• increase Canadian content in existing supply chains 
• build and consolidate Canadian expertise (ex., expertise may reside in other government departments, academia, industry, etc.) 
• design, engineering, or other developmental/planning work in support of the above activities or to further develop a proposal 
• increase availability of domestic sources of key materials, supplies, minerals in production through expanded production, refinement, extraction or other related activities 

Applicants are encouraged to engage in early consultations with program officials prior to applying to the CDIR Program, to assess eligibility and ensure alignment with program objectives. To contact program officials, please send an email to CDIR-RIDC@forces.gc.ca.

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

Eligible expenditures are those incurred by the recipient and which are necessary and reasonable to carry out eligible activities. Eligible expenditures will be limited to non-recurring costs that are specifically related to the project: 

• direct labour 
• subcontracts and consultants 
• direct materials and equipment 
• overhead corporate costs 
  • the maximum amount of eligible costs which can be dedicated to overhead is set at 30% 
• legal, accounting and consulting fees in connection with obtaining patents or other statutory protection for project intellectual property 
• other incremental costs directly related to the project and the objectives defined in the contribution agreement 
  • travel costs in alignment with the National Joint Council Travel Directive 
  • web hosting and other telecommunications and IT services 
  • training for project-specific skills 
  • intellectual property legal costs 
  • construction equipment 
• land, buildings and infrastructure 
• the costs of obtaining licenses or intellectual property necessary for the successful completion of the project 

Costs associated with land, buildings and infrastructure must be necessary and reasonable to carry out the eligible activities. 

Costs associated with land will need to be specifically approved by DND and negotiations will need to include a plan, acceptable to DND, for the life of the land beyond the term of the contribution agreement. 

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

The amount of an agreement will be based on the identified need in the applicant’s proposal, after review by DND. If accepted, DND would indicate the available funding to support the applicant and the funding profile it is committing to the applicant.

The maximum amount payable per project is $700,000,000.

The amount of funding may be impacted by other government (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal) financial assistance it has received or requested for the eligible project prior to a recommendation being made to the Minister/Department to approve a contribution.

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

The program may make conditionally repayable contributions or non-repayable contributions.

Agreements with not-for-profit organizations will be non-repayable.

In accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Transfer Payments, repayable contributions will be conditionally and/or unconditionally repayable or a combination of both.

Non-repayable contributions may be provided to for profit organizations, where the benefits of the supported activities are to the benefit of Canada and safety of Canadians.

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

Applicants are encouraged to engage in early consultations with program officials prior to applying to assess eligibility and ensure alignment. To contact program officials, please send an email to CDIR-RIDC@forces.gc.ca. Applicants with eligible proposals are invited to submit a project proposal for further consideration.

To determine if you can apply for funding, check your eligibility.

For additional information on how to apply, go to Application process.