Good morning. Thank you, Minister McGuinty.
To Christyn and the team at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries – thank you for your leadership and for your vision to build up Canada’s defence and security industry.
This is the first time a Prime Minister has spoken at CANSEC. I am here because defence and security are changing rapidly.
With 300 exhibitions and over 100 delegations, this is the largest CANSEC ever.
It’s the first held at the newly renamed Cohere Centre – a sign of just how integrated technology has become with defence.
Everyone here knows that the assumptions that have defined decades of Canadian defence and foreign policy have been upended.
The threats we face are numerous and multiplying – from incursions in the Canadian Arctic to attacks on our cyberspace.
The very nature of war is rapidly evolving, driven by the proliferation of drones, autonomous systems, and weapons in orbit.
Conflicts could emerge closer to our borders than before, and new weapons are reducing the distance that separates us from them.
The world has changed, and Canada must change with it.
That is why, six weeks after forming government, we announced our ambitious plan to rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
We embarked on this mission to protect Canadians, to defend our territory, to secure our borders, and to protect our sovereignty.
Over the past year, Canada’s new government has worked with unprecedented speed and scale.
We enacted the largest increase in defence investment in modern Canadian history.
We are now protecting Canada’s High North and Arctic with a new year-round CAF presence on land, sea, and air.
We have expanded the reach, security mandate, and abilities of the Canadian Coast Guard with new resources.
And we gave every CAF member a raise – the largest in a generation – because their pay should reflect the weight of their responsibilities.
As a result, recruitment to the CAF is the highest in three decades.
Canada has achieved NATO’s 2% of GDP defence expenditure target – half a decade ahead of the original schedule and for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This is our foundation, not a ceiling.
We are working toward NATO’s 3.5% of GDP in 2035 defence expenditure target through major new investments in strategic capabilities – including a modernised submarine fleet and one of the world’s largest fleets of icebreakers to strengthen our defence of the Arctic.
We are already meeting NATO’s 1.5% target for critical defence infrastructure – from upgraded ports, airports, and airbases to new Northern Operational Support Hubs to deter threats in the North.
Our fiscal framework has already provisioned to achieve 4% of GDP in total defence spending by the end of this decade, ahead of NATO’s timetable.
And we will make additional provisions to achieve NATO’s 5% spending target on or ahead of schedule.
The federal government’s first mission is to ensure the protection of Canadians.
We are doing so in a way that allows us to create well-paying careers, strengthen our domestic supply chains, and deliver maximum benefits to our economy.
That is why we have launched important measures to transform our defence procurement system and support large-scale construction that is fast, flexible, and effective.
We launched the Defence Investment Agency to streamline procurement into a single centralised process that reduces duplication of approvals and administrative red tape.
The Defence Investment Agency develops the sovereign capabilities essential to our ability to defend our borders, our oceans, and the Arctic.
And it helps ensure that every dollar spent maximises careers, industries, and economic benefits in Canada.
Canada is leading the work to establish the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which will mobilise low-cost financing in Canada and among our NATO Allies to strengthen defence production and technologies.
In February, we announced Canada’s first-ever Defence Industrial Strategy – a bold plan to get our Armed Forces what they need, when they need it; scale Canadian defence companies; and put half a trillion dollars to work in the strategic sectors of our economy.
Its framework is simple: build, partner, buy.
We are focused first on building in Canada, directing procurement to Canadian firms where we have sovereign capabilities.
Where we cannot build, we are partnering with like-minded allies – attracting investment, transferring intellectual property, and integrating supply chains so more public dollars flow back to Canada.
To that end, this year Canada became the first non-European country to join the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence procurement initiative.
Using our new framework, we’re moving ahead with an ambitious, major investment for our defence and security.
Today, as part of our steadfast commitment to defend Canada and our allies, I am pleased to announce that Canada has entered into negotiations to procure Saab’s Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft.
With a suite of advanced sensors and mission systems, Saab’s GlobalEye will be a key resource for the CAF to detect and deter threats across the Arctic.
GlobalEye’s airborne surveillance capability can track objects and signals up to 650 kilometres away, and will send real-time information to the CAF.
At the heart of the GlobalEye system is the Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft, with 20% United States content.
Saab and Bombardier’s expertise is transforming a modern jet into a cutting-edge surveillance aircraft – with an altitude of over 30,000 feet.
The GlobalEye partnership will establish Canadian-based production capability, including aircraft conversion and missionisation, engineering collaboration, research and development (R&D), and potential participation in radar component production – positioning Canada as an integral part of the GlobalEye supply chain.
In total, more than 3,000 jobs will be supported in the Canadian aerospace sector.
At least one third of the planned GlobalEye fleet will be produced in Canada over the next 15 years.
That represents at least 40 aircraft, including export orders for allies, built by Canadian workers.
The Saab GlobalEye combines airborne early warning and control with long-range air, sea, and land surveillance in real time from a single platform. It’s advanced, available, and operational – one of a kind.
This is an example of Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy in action.
It builds Canadian strategic autonomy, creates Canadian jobs, and reinforces Canada’s position as a global leader.
And it is the product of choice for many of Canada’s partners, including France, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates.
A strong, resilient defence industry requires fundamentally rethinking our approval and production timelines.
That is why today I am also announcing a series of measures to improve defence industry partnerships.
In doing so, we are fulfilling our commitments made when we launched the Defence Industrial Strategy in February.
First, we are transforming our Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, directing investments toward the areas that matter most for our competitiveness.
Foreign contractors that secure Canadian defence contracts will now have stronger incentives to subcontract to Canadian firms and invest in our supply chain.
We’re cutting red tape with a new 90-day approval standard, so companies, especially small businesses, get faster, more predictable decisions.
We’re introducing the Strategic Investment Transaction – a new crediting system for high-value investments such as building or expanding a Canadian facility, funding R&D, or transferring intellectual property to a Canadian company.
In short, we will reward those investments that build lasting defence industrial capacity in Canada.
With this new Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, we’re making it more valuable to work with Canadian companies by treating those that have at least 70% Canadian content value as if they have 100%.
Second, we are launching a new Strategic Partnerships Framework so companies can work more closely with government to build the sovereign capabilities the CAF need.
Rather than one-size-fits-all procurement, our new framework will catalyse robust partnerships – with government sharing operational priorities and industry bringing innovation and expertise.
Companies designated as Strategic Partners will invest in Canadian R&D, grow domestic supply chains, and hire Canadian workforce. In return, the government will be an anchor customer – accelerating approvals and supporting exports.
Navigating federal government programs can be challenging, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises taking their first steps in the defence sector.
That is why our third measure is to create a new navigation service that will help Canadian companies access the support they need to grow and compete in defence and dual-use markets, such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and advanced manufacturing.
This service will bridge companies with relevant federal programs, provincial partners, and export opportunities, with specialised staff embedded within industry associations.
Companies will receive personalised service, we will cut through administrative mazes, and above all, government will be able to respond to requests faster.
Finally, to ensure the partnership between government and defence industry remains in sync, the government will be establishing a new Defence Advisory Forum.
Senior industry executives drawn from across our 10 sovereign capability areas and every region of the country will advise government on how to best grow our defence industrial base, investment needs, and barriers to growth.
The forum will be co-chaired by the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Industry, and the Secretary of State (Defence Procurement).
Together, these measures will ensure Canada’s defence industry can build bigger and faster.
We are moving from a regulatory approach that checks boxes to one that builds our defence industrial base with speed and scale.
And we are just getting started.
We have committed to doubling our defence expenditure by the end of this decade.
Over the next 10 years, Canada will invest $180 billion directly in defence procurement, $290 billion in defence and security-related infrastructure, and create over $125 billion in additional downstream economic benefits.
We will boost government investment in defence-related research and development by 85%.
We plan to increase Canadian defence sector revenues by over 220%, our defence exports by 50%, and create 125,000 new jobs.
And we will create stable, rewarding careers for the more than 80,000 Canadians who already work in our defence industry – from the skilled trades to engineering and computing.
Today, protecting our sovereignty requires more than conventional defence.
It also requires reliable access to essential strategic capabilities, such as space-based communications and unimpeded access to artificial intelligence.
It requires digital sovereignty, starting with a cloud solution for all intelligence infrastructure.
From domestic ammunition production and the Over-the-Horizon Radar, to quantum, cyber, artificial intelligence, and drones – we are building and partnering with Canadian materials, Canadian expertise, and Canadian workers across the country.
We are protecting Canada’s ability to act independently in a more dangerous and divided world.
We used to build in this country.
Canada had built one of the largest aircraft and naval fleets by the end of the Second World War.
We built one of the world’s first autonomous submarines.
One of the first drones used by NATO forces.
Now, we are building again.
We are reinforcing the foundations of the true North, strong and free.
A Canada defined not only by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength.
Thank you.
