{"id":160249,"date":"2025-09-21T23:45:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T23:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/160249\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T23:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T23:45:09","slug":"why-canadas-defence-tech-sector-is-suddenly-exploding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/160249\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Canada\u2019s defence tech sector is suddenly exploding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Icebreaker\u2019s Matthew Lombardi says many of the technologies Canada develops have a dual use in defence. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This week on The BetaKit Podcast, we\u2019re talking defence tech.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a wholly new topic for the pod, because this time last year, Canada didn\u2019t have a defence tech sector<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually allows us an opportunity to build sovereign capability and leapfrog to get our armed forces where they need to be by taking advantage of leapfrog Canadian technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The geopolitical situation being what it is, defence is suddenly very hot: the federal government has committed to spending 5 percent of GDP<\/a> on defence by 2035, changed procurement laws to support the sector, and is encouraging the banks and pension funds<\/a> to invest.<\/p>\n

The feds have even conscripted this week\u2019s guest, Matthew Lombardi of defence newsletter The Icebreaker<\/a>, to help map the sector with the Council of Canadian Innovators.<\/p>\n

What Lombardi found was a cluster of almost 500 Canadian companies building critical technologies\u2014technologies like quantum<\/a>, logistics and telecommunications<\/a>, or aerospace<\/a>, for example\u2014that have a \u2018dual use\u2019 in the defence sector. He also found procurement issues common to Canadian tech companies across all industries, and some financing and regulatory hurdles<\/a> particular to defence.<\/p>\n

We cover all of that and more on the episode, but I want to swing back to the novelty of the subject matter for a moment.<\/p>\n

The need for a Canadian defence tech sector is new to everyone involved, including BetaKit. And for some (including me!), this might be an uncomfortable subject.<\/p>\n

But as our prime minister recently noted<\/a>, there has been a rupture in the global order, and the effects are profound. This conversation is part of that.<\/p>\n

So what does Canadian defence tech look like?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The BetaKit Podcast is presented by CADSI<\/a>: The national voice of Canada\u2019s defence, security, and emerging technology sectors.<\/p>\n

CADSI advocates for a resilient and sustainable defence and security sector by engaging government, shaping policy, and strengthening Canada\u2019s role with global partners. We create platforms that connect industry with decision-makers, foster collaboration, and reinforce Canada\u2019s position as a reliable partner in international security.<\/p>\n

Visit defenceandsecurity.ca<\/a> to grow your defence business with CADSI.<\/p>\n

Image courtesy Prime Minister Mark Carney via YouTube<\/a>. Recorded and edited at\u00a0Toronto Podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Icebreaker\u2019s Matthew Lombardi says many of the technologies Canada develops have a dual use in defence. …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,83432,83434,44,83433],"class_list":["post-160249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-defence-tech","tag-matthew-lombardi","tag-news","tag-the-icebreaker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}