TORONTO — Canada announced a defense industrial strategy that earmarks an additional $60 billion over five years, raising total defense spending to an estimated $36‑43 billion. The plan calls for tripling the size of the domestic defense sector, creating 125,000 jobs and prioritizing sovereign capabilities such as aerospace, robotics and unmanned systems.

The strategy reflects Prime Minister Mark Carney’s effort to strengthen economic self‑sufficiency amid new tariff measures with the United States and to diversify procurement away from U.S. contractors. Companies are developing a range of products, including camouflage uniforms and helmet covers for the Canadian Armed Forces, remote sensors for Arctic operations, mobile AI‑driven robots, and drones capable of resupply or payload delivery. Wuxly, a Toronto‑based parka manufacturer, is assembling uniforms and helmet covers, while New Frontier Robotics is working on a mobile manipulator robot with potential military and civilian uses. Volatus Aerospace, based near Montreal, produces drones for both commercial and defense applications, including first‑person‑view models and cargo‑dropping systems tested at a site north of Toronto.

The government has also secured deals to purchase radar aircraft from Sweden’s Saab and submarines from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp, and it aims to support domestic firms through the broader defense supply chain. Industry leaders note strong demand at defense exhibitions, with many new companies entering the sector, but they caution that limited manufacturing capacity and competition from larger U.S. firms with greater research budgets may pose challenges. Analysts describe the initiative as a generational shift for a nation historically focused on peacekeeping.