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ARTICLE · 05 JUNE 2026

2026 Defence Outlook

Gowling WLG
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On February 17, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (“the Strategy”), a foundational policy framework that links Canada’s national defence...

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Todd J. Burke
Todd J. Burke
Stephanie Pearce
Stephanie Pearce
Marc Crandall
Marc Crandall
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Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy

What businesses need to know

On February 17, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (“the Strategy”), a foundational policy framework that links Canada’s national defence, economic security, and industrial growth. The Strategy is grounded in the government’s view that Canada’s sovereignty, military readiness, and long-term economic prosperity increasingly depend on a strong domestic defence industrial and technological base.

A central theme of the Strategy is that defence capability and economic strength reinforce one another.1 Defence investment is framed not only as essential to equipping and sustaining the Canadian Armed Forces, but also as a catalyst for productivity, innovation, high-value job creation, and supply-chain resilience. In this context, defence procurement is treated as a long-term industrial signal rather than a series of individual investments.

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