Description

The Power of Procurement: Navigating Canada’s New Defence Industrial Strategy

National defence is one of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s top priorities, and will remain at the forefront of federal lobbying for the next several years, covering a wide range of industries from critical minerals to infrastructure, security, and dual-use innovations.

This ebook encapsulates reporting on the latest developments in the federal government’s progress on all matters related to national security and defence procurement, its impact on the defence industry, and how lobbyists are adapting to the Carney Liberal government, new agencies, and the new Defence Industrial Strategy.

In addition to original reporting, this ebook includes relevant articles, columns, and opinion pieces published in The Lobby Monitor, The Hill Times, and The Wire Report.

Inside you will find useful resources, such as:

• Key contact lists featuring contact details for the most important MPs, political staff, and public servants working on this file;
• A complete list of all active organizations registered to lobby on defence issues;
• A compilation of all press releases from the government and relevant stakeholders on these topics; and
• Synopses of the work completed by the House Standing Committee on Industry and Technology related to defence and procurement.

Table of Contents

Introduction

• The Lobby Monitor defence and procurement stories
• As defence lobbying importance grows, ‘understand who the decision makers are,’ says CCI’s federal affairs director
• Key contact lists for defence and procurement lobbying
• Lobbyists laud government’s prioritization of critical minerals in Defence Industrial Strategy
• Federal defence investments spur infrastructure projects that benefit government, CAF, and remote communities, say lobbyists
• Defence Industrial Strategy celebrated by dual-use researchers, innovators
• Lobbying Trends: Hanwha and TKMS make final advocacy push before government’s procurement decision
• Copeland aims to get CAF ‘what it needs’ as Hanwha Defence Canada’s CEO
• ‘Here to stay’; Hanwha Defence Canada seeks long-term partnership with Canada, says CEO
• New defence industrial strategy provides opportunity to grow domestic industrial base, say lobbyists
• Alliance of Canadian Defence Companies launches to give voice to domestic defence industry
• SAFE has potential to be a ‘great tool’ for Canada’s defence industry, but many questions remain, says defence lobbyist
• Industry shows ‘cautious optimism’ with new procurement agency, but ‘government needs to deliver,’ say defence experts
• TKMS and Hanwha Ocean’s lobbying efforts secure a shot at federal submarine procurement contract

Key contact lists

• Ministry of National Defence
• Ministry of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement
• Ministry of Veteran Affairs
• Office of the Secretary of State for Defence Procurement
• Parliamentary Secretaries
• Defence Investment Agency
• Standing Committee on National Defence
• Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs
• Miscellaneous Contacts

Defence procurement stories from The Hill Times

• Congratulations to Carney on securing a majority, now please, please, pick a fighter jet, already
• ‘We’re selling to our allies, but we’re not selling to ourselves’: Canadian defence companies tell Senate National Security Committee
• Push to secure Canadian IP in defence procurement needs a ‘clear plan’ of execution, say experts
• Aviation is an investment—let the returns speak for themselves
• Canada’s next generation of airpower won’t come from a single aircraft
• Protecting Canada’s aerospace advantage at home and abroad
• AI in the skies: Canada can’t afford slow procurement process any longer, say experts
• New CAF assault rifles order is good news all around
• Building a modern Canadian defence sector? Make SMEs cybersecure
• Will Canada and the EU move in together?
• It’s Carney’s world: proximity matters for the top 50 influencing Canadian foreign policy
• Defence procurement in a tailspin
• Feds’ $20-billion submarine choice must go beyond economic concerns, say experts: ‘possibly one of the biggest defence procurement decisions Canada will make in decades’
• Feds’ $27-billion F-35 fighter jet contract remains top choice for defence experts, despite NDP push for Gripen
• ‘Keep on going as nothing has changed’: DND prepares for F-35 fleet despite ongoing review
• The F-35 and the politics of procurement
• The Hill Times’ 100 Most Influential People in Politics and Government in 2026
• Canada’s push to develop nitrocellulose hinges on real industrial integration
• Wrangling the Ranger rifle fiasco
• Multi-solving the polycrisis: addressing climate, economy, and defence through infrastructure
• In defence of Canada
• The innovation test in the Arctic
• Volkswagen rebuffs ‘speculation’ that it will support German-Norwegian bid for Canadian submarine contract
• A quantum-safe Canada can be an early win for the Defence Industrial Strategy
• We need a strong, unapologetically Canadian defence industry voice—for the first time in a generation, we have one
• Defending Canada, where ocean capability runs deep
• Navy commander, SecState kibosh mixed submarine fleet that experts say would be ‘more complicated’ and ‘inefficient’ to operate
• Main estimates set out $502.8-billion for 2026-27 as National Defence tops voted spending
• Mining a collective defence against Trump’s threats
• Feds’ defence industrial strategy promises much potential for Canada, but it will need public and private-sector champions
• Jobs, guns, and the GDP: selling defence as economic policy
• Fortune’s Wheel: defence spending impermanence
• Q&A | Canada’s ‘ambitious’ defence strategy and the ‘tough slog’ ahead, with Mark Norman
• New defence strategy unveils big numbers and contradictions
• Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy needs an Indo-Pacific gear
• Feds’ new defence industrial strategy is powerful, but it faces serious challenges before it can succeed
• New strategy outlines ‘ambitious’ defence readiness objective months after downgrading air fleet target
• A defence reality check for the Canadian Armed Forces
• ‘All about’ NATO: bulk of feds’ $5.4-billion spending request boosts defence programs
• What will it take to re-arm the Army?
• Defence Investment Agency needs to do more than reshuffle the staff deck to succeed, say observers
• NDP calls for feds to pull the plug on American F-35 order, and buy Swedish Gripen planes instead
• It’s time to get serious about diversifying our suppliers
• Industrial benefits policy needs a ‘relook,’ says ex-senior public servant, as Conservative MP pushes for contract records
• ‘Very few truly understand how it currently works’: procurement watchdog puts defence contracting under microscope
• Building a stronger maritime defence industry partnership with Poland
• ‘Disgraceful and indefensible’: feds’ failure to release new Defence Industrial Strategy by deadline sparks backlash
• PSPC failed to meet key economic, environmental, and social procurement targets last fiscal year, departmental data shows
• Is an 88-jet fleet already out of date?
• The rush to re-arm the Army
• Reloading Canada’s procurement weapon to accelerate innovation, diversification, and resilience
• Building up Canada’s defence sector will depend on long-term homegrown support
• MPs order release of records from new Defence Investment Agency after it leaves the PBO waiting
• F-35 fighter purchase takes flak
• Pipelines and planes: when does ‘bold’ start, Prime Minister Carney?
• Feds risk derailing major projects unless they chart a clearer course for defence procurement, experts say
• Gripen fighter jet purchase would allow Canada to assert sovereignty, says past chair of House Defence Committee McKay
• Seeing beyond the cave: bridging culture in defence and procurement
• The future fighter debate
• From dialogue to delivery: aerospace is critical to building Canada Strong
• Plans to boost defence industry must leverage aerospace, strong civil sector, say sector experts
• Canada must build on federal budget investments in dual-use innovation
• ‘Period of fluidity’: feds signal procurement transition as Defence Investment Agency ramps up
• Canadian defence: between promises and reality
• We need you! Canada’s NATO commitment extends beyond defence to its people
• Defence focus in budget signals turning point, but some defence experts wary about lack of detail
• Avro Arrow ambition is needed to meet this moment
• Outpacing AI-speed threats: why Canada must rethink defence innovation
• A budget that meets the moment
• MPs to vote on $10.8-billion spending boost in new estimates
• Budget’s ‘Buy-Canadian’ push signals ‘clear commitment’ in procurement policy direction, but could also complicate the system, say observers
• Carney government promises to spend $81.8-billion over five years on defence
• Room for improvement in the CAF? Yeah, I’ll say
• Shortlisted shipbuilders say Poland’s submarine pick won’t affect delivery on Canadian procurement
• Feds’ new industrial strategy falls short on ambition, needs clearer objectives for defence procurement, say experts
• Canada has not spoken to South Koreans about building new submarines at home, says embassy
• Turning commitments into capability: the need for industrial strategies
• Canada’s submarine purchase has new ‘sense of urgency’ with possible selection by end of year, says German envoy
• Canada’s moves on procurement overshadowed as the U.S. prepares for war against its citizens
• Delayed F-35 review ‘not slowing anything down,’ says SecState for defence procurement Fuhr
• For drones, do like the Nordics and the Brits
• Innovation as deterrence: how Canada’s new NATO target can thrive in a tech-driven world
• Canada taking ‘necessary’ steps to tap into European defence market with new security pacts amid U.S. tensions: observers
• Carney should make a decision on the fighter jets, our national security depends on it
• A bigger defence budget may increase Canada’s hollow force risk
• Define ‘Canadian’: questions loom over Carney’s ‘protectionist’ procurement policy push

Defence procurement stories from The Wire Report

• Ottawa is spending billions on defence while leaving our critical infrastructure undefended

Standing Committee on Industry and Technology

Standing Committee on Industry and Technology Report No. 2: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy: From Innovation to Readiness