The cities of Ottawa and Gatineau announced today the launch of a new task force aimed at turning the country’s capital region into a defence innovation hub.
This defence innovation task force features 33 defence decision-makers, investors, innovators, industry leaders, veterans, and policy experts from both sides of the Ottawa river.
“Ottawa–Gatineau is uniquely positioned to lead as a global defence innovation hub.”
Members include Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, retired Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) general Rick Hillier, Glenn Cowan, founder and managing partner of defence tech VC platform One9, and Hamid Arabzadeh, co-founder and CEO of chipmaker Ranovus, among others.
The task force aims to mobilize Ottawa and Gatineau’s defence, diplomatic, and technological strengths in verticals like aerospace and cybersecurity to help Canada and its allies achieve their defence goals while also gunning to draw new business and investment to the region.
It will lead Ottawa-Gatineau’s bid to host the headquarters of the proposed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Security Resiliency Bank (DSRB), a Defence Innovation Secure Hub, and a sovereign compound semiconductor fabrication facility.
“Ottawa–Gatineau is uniquely positioned to lead as a global defence innovation hub in support of Canada’s security and prosperity,” Sutcliffe asserted in a statement.
After years of underinvestment compared to its allies, the Government of Canada has been ramping up its defence spending in a big way in the wake of geopolitical and macroeconomic threats from the United States and other countries.
RELATED: Ottawa pushes to become Canada’s defence innovation hub
Canada is now on pace to spend two percent of its GDP on defence this fiscal year as it targets five percent by 2035. Budget 2025 allocated nearly $82 billion CAD to “rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in” the CAF, and Canada’s tech sector spent much of last year angling for a cut.
Spearheaded by NATO, the DSRB is aimed at reducing borrowing costs for military spending by pooling credit strength and expected to provide defence financing to NATO members and allied nations. Vancouver and Montréal are also vying to host the DSRB, which all Big Six Canadian banks have also put their support behind.
The Government of Canada has already launched a Defence Investment Agency to overhaul military procurement, and is expected to announce its plan of attack for shoring up the country’s domestic defence industry soon.
Feature image courtesy Invest Ottawa. Photo via LinkedIn.