Open this photo in gallery: Defence Minister David Mc Guinty, pictured during Question Period earlier this month, says the initiative ‘reaffirms our commitment to strengthening Canada’s defence industrial base.’Justin Tang/ The federal government is allocating funds to regional development agencies in Canada to enhance support for defence companies nationwide. On Friday, Ottawa unveiled its $357.7-million Regional Defence Investment Initiative, which will be distributed among seven regional development agencies across the country. As stated by the federal government, this funding will assist businesses in integrating into both domestic and international defence supply chains while boosting their “industrial and innovation capacity.” This effort includes companies already involved in defence work, those with products that serve both military and civilian purposes, and those looking to transition into the defence sector. How Canada can beef up its defences and grow its economy at the same time “The establishment of the Regional Defence Investment Initiative reaffirms our commitment to strengthening Canada’s defence industrial base and supporting Canada’s growing economy,” Defence Minister David Mc Guinty said in a written statement. Specifically, Ottawa mentioned that the goals of this regional initiative are to “drive research and innovation, strengthen domestic supply chains, grow critical resource stockpiles, and improve access to funds for Canadian small- and medium-sized defence businesses.” Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon, who also oversees economic development in Southern Ontario, announced the initiative in Toronto on Friday, revealing that Southern Ontario’s agency would receive $94.7-million from this allocation. Other regional development agencies will make their announcements on Friday as well. These include agencies based in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Northern Canada, Northern Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia. Southern Ontario’s agency known as Fed Dev Ontario will contribute an extra $106-million toward this initiative, raising its total funding amount to nearly $200-million. The agency highlighted sectors like advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive technologies, cybersecurity, robotics and AI that could gain from this investment. According to Fed Dev data, Southern Ontario hosts more than 900 organizations capable of contributing to Canada’s defence industrial base with significant clusters located in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ottawa and London. Small-to-medium-sized defence enterprises (SMEs) across Canada have reported facing challenges accessing customers due to lengthy contracting timelines within the country along with difficulties obtaining financing necessary for growth according to a survey conducted by the Council of Canadian Innovators alongside Canadian defence innovation network The Icebreaker. Deepak Dutt CEO of Zighra based in Ottawa which specializes in AI systems for defense shared that securing contracts with government is a major growth factor for SMEs enabling them scale their capabilities. “If those contracts don’t happen then we could be building stuff but then for whom? Sure we’ll build but market has to be there customer has buy,” he noted. Opinion: Is Canada ready for the big defense bill coming?
