Over the past decade, Josh Ogden has watched Canada’s robotic industry shift away from building core technologies and towards assembling systems that are designed elsewhere.
It wasn’t always this way. Canadian companies like Aeryon Labs and Deep Trekker developed military-grade platforms and specialized robotics, owning both the technology and the manufacturing. But many were later acquired by foreign buyers, and Ogden believes the ecosystem today is increasingly shifting away from Canadian-built tech to foreign licensed technology.
Josh Ogden, AVSS
“In Canada, we have less than 20 drone manufacturers, but they don’t actually design and manufacture their core technology.
Ogden is a cofounder and CEO of New Brunswick and Ottawa-based AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc (AVSS), which designs and manufactures drone safety systems and dual-use robotic technologies in Canada. It is trying to set an example for Canada’s drone industry by building here.
To Ogden, Canada’s issue is not a lack of engineering talent or demand, but a steady erosion of domestic ownership over intellectual property and production.
“I definitely drink the Kool-Aid on making sure that we aren’t just a country of subsidiaries,” he said. “In Canada, we have less than 20 drone manufacturers, but they don’t actually design and manufacture their core technology. They’re mostly assemblers of foreign-made components. They bring in motors from one country, batteries from another, carbon fibre, cameras, and assemble it together.”
AVSS began in 2017 as a safety systems company. Its flagship parachute technology allows drones to fly over people in compliance with strict aviation regulations. Ogden says AVSS is the only parachute manufacturer with its own Means of Compliance (MOC) listed on the Federal Aviation Administration’s approved systems for flight over people.
“People trust us on how these systems are designed, tested, and manufactured,” he said.
AVSS has since expanded into dual-use applications. The company has developed systems that allow drones to drop supplies into otherwise inaccessible terrain, as well as deployment systems for avalanche mitigation teams. Ogden believes these technologies carry obvious benefits for civilians, but also highlight why reliance on foreign-owned systems can create risk for Canada.
“A foreign manufacturer can turn off your technology,” he said. “And if there’s a conflict and you’re reliant on a US manufacturer, there’s going to be so much demand in their home country that we’re not going to get service.”
Ogden isn’t arguing that the Canadian government is disengaged. He said programs like the federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit provide key support for prototyping and early validation. The gap lies in what should come after.
In the United States, defence innovation often transitions into long-term, multi-million-dollar procurement programs that allow companies to scale. These are known as programs of record, and they are approved, funded, and budgeted acquisition efforts for new or improved defense systems and technologies. Canada, Ogden argued, often validates technology without committing to sustained adoption.
“We’re missing that procurement vehicle that says, if you deliver and can reproduce, you can get receive predictable contracts, take those profits, scale up, and export,” he said.
Without such a program, companies face increasing pressure to license foreign designs or sell outright. “We can’t take a shortcut to licensing,” Ogden added. “You do not learn enough by licensing. You’ve got to design, order, test, and manufacture yourself.”
“If we don’t own the tech stack, the hardware, the software, all that data and capacity goes to somebody else who could turn it off.”
Josh Ogden, AVSS
In the last year, rising geopolitical tension and US protectionism has already turned supply chains into points of leverage. Escalating trade disputes have increased costs for high-tech components, which has firms around the world rethinking where they build and buy critical parts. Ogden believes that Canada’s reliance on imported hardware is leaving the country exposed in sectors where control over technology increasingly overlaps with national security.
“If we don’t own the tech stack, the hardware, the software, all that data and capacity goes to somebody else who could turn it off,” he added.
Ogden isn’t alone in this view. Patrick Searle, who was recently named CEO of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said one of his top priorities is equipping CCI members to meet the current moment, which includes helping them navigate opportunities tied to dual-use technology amid the prospect of increased federal defence spending.
AVSS now employs roughly 35 people, most of them engineers, technicians, or production staff. Everything is built in Canada, including sewing parachutes in house. The company spends more than sixty percent of its annual budget on research and development and exports its products to the United States, Europe, Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand.
“We’re a proof case that if you build something of quality, find a niche, and own it, you can export it,” Ogden added.
Ogden believes Canada has the potential to be a leader in the drone industry. The country offers real-world conditions for systems designed for cold and extreme conditions, and it has a strong pool of engineering talent, regulatory openness, and early-stage incentives. What he believes is missing is support at scale and a willingness to back Canadian manufacturers so that they build and stay in Canada.
“Canadian-made means the IP and profits stay in Canada. It can’t be licensed from foreign allies or foreign adversaries,” he said. “It has to be built here.”
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Feature image courtesy AVSS.