New defence strategy creates wide-ranging economic opportunities for Canadian companies to build and power the future

Press Release

(OTTAWA, ON) February 17, 2026 – Canada’s new defence industrial strategy has the potential to transform and modernize Canada’s manufacturing, resources, electricity and supply chain industries for defence and civilian sectors.

Why this matters:

Defence investments can deliver benefits for companies, workers and industries across the entire economy, here’s how:

• Power: Electrifying defence manufacturing and infrastructure will improve efficiency, reliability, self-sufficiency and security. These investments will also drive demand for batteries, power and grid solutions that are equally critical to Canada’s clean energy and transportation sectors.
• Resources: Defence investment requires a similarly skilled workforce and uses the same Canadian critical minerals needed to scale clean technologies, strengthening domestic supply chains for both national security and future clean economic growth.
• Building: A ‘Buy Canadian’ defence strategy provides long-term certainty for domestic manufacturers, investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, and creating new opportunities for companies whose technologies can serve both defence needs and civilian clean-energy markets.

In response, Merran Smith, President of New Economy Canada, said:

Today’s announcement isn’t just about responding to conflicts abroad, it’s about protecting our home, our economy, our businesses and our workers. Canada’s new defence industrial strategy represents a generational economic opportunity to enhance national security, energy security and security of our supply chains.

By taking a dual-use approach, we can leverage defence investments to accelerate innovative clean tech, battery technology and materials innovation, powered by clean, abundant and affordable electricity.

While the focus of today’s announcement is on the defence industrial strategy, linking it with the recently announced automotive and forthcoming electricity strategies will provide wide-ranging opportunities beyond the traditional defence sector by driving civilian innovation, commercialization and competitiveness at the same time.

Opportunities for dual-use defence spending

1. Support Canada’s domestic supply chain with long-term procurement signals. Use defence procurement to provide predictable, long-term demand for Canadian-made low-carbon steel, aluminum, cement and critical minerals. This ‘Buy Canadian’ approach can strengthen strategic sectors, reduce exposure to trade threats, and reinforce the resource backbone needed for both defence and civilian economic growth.
2. Position batteries and critical minerals as the strategic assets they are. Batteries, advanced materials and critical minerals are core components to our national infrastructure, needed for both defence and competitiveness in an electrifying global economy.
3. Design the forthcoming federal electricity strategy to power industrial growth.  Ensure defence industrial developments are underpinned by abundant, affordable and reliable clean electricity. A modernized and secured grid, including expanded transmission, storage and power for Arctic communities and infrastructure, is essential to meet rising defence manufacturing and infrastructure demand.

New Economy Canada is a non-partisan initiative uniting over 60 companies, labour unions and Indigenous organizations, all committed to accelerating investment in Canada’s clean economy. Our members employ or represent over 410,000 workers and generate annual revenues of over $200 billion CAD. https://neweconomycanada.ca

For media inquiries:
Rebecca Spring, Senior Director of Communications, New Economy Canada Rebecca.spring@neweconomycanada.ca

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