CCI Response to the Regional Defence Investment Initiative

Today, the federal government announced the creation of the Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII), a $357.7 million commitment aimed at strengthening Canada’s defence industrial capacity and supporting the development of domestic capabilities to defend Canada’s sovereignty.

In response to the announcement, CCI Director of Federal Affairs Daniel Perry issued the following statement:

"The Council of Canadian Innovators welcomes the government’s focus on expanding Canada’s defence industrial capacity and supporting the innovators building the technologies our armed forces need. Targeted regional investments can help strengthen domestic supply chains, accelerate research and innovation, and ensure Canada develops the intellectual property that underpins modern defence capabilities.

"CCI’s national survey mapped Canada’s dual-use innovation capacity and identified more than 400 Canadian-headquartered companies with the technologies and talent to support the federal government’s efforts to meet NATO spending commitments and modernize the Canadian Armed Forces. Mobilizing these firms is essential to building sovereign capability."

"It is essential, however, that this new funding flows to truly Canadian companies: firms that are headquartered here, retain ownership and control of their IP in Canada, and are investing in the long-term growth of Canada’s economic and national security. Support for foreign branch plants will not build the sovereign capability that our armed forces require.

"With global threats rising and our allies accelerating their own industrial mobilization, Canada urgently needs a clear strategy. We are calling on the federal government to release the Defence Industrial Strategy, which we hope to see by the end of the year, to provide direction, procurement certainty, and a roadmap for scaling Canadian innovators into defence supply chains."

"We look forward to continued collaboration with the government to build a stronger, more resilient Canadian defence economy."

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Media Contact‍

James McLeod
Director of Communications and Content
jmcleod@canadianinnovators.org