{"id":232270,"date":"2025-10-22T16:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/232270\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:16:11","slug":"inuit-business-leaders-head-new-defence-firm-to-integrate-tech-with-northern-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/232270\/","title":{"rendered":"Inuit business leaders head new defence firm to integrate tech with northern projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Harry Flaherty, right, CEO of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, gifts Glenn Cowan, left, founder of ONE9, a traditional Inuit drum cover as a symbol of partnership marking the creation of Sapujjijiit, ‘defender of the Arctic,’ Canada\u2019s first Inuit-owned defence company, on Oct. 17 at the headquarters of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation in Iqaluit, Nunavut.Supplied<\/p>\n

Inuit business leaders are steering a new Canadian defence<\/a> company that aims to connect emerging technologies designed for Arctic security with major new infrastructure work in the North.<\/p>\n

Sapujjijiit Inc. is majority-owned by Panarctic Communications Inc., a subsidiary of the Iqaluit-based Qikiqtaaluk Corp., and was launched on Tuesday in partnership with Ottawa-based venture capital firm ONE9. By combining their expertise in northern development and emerging technologies, Qikiqtaaluk and ONE9 are working to establish a conduit between Canada\u2019s burgeoning defence tech sector and businesses working on major projects in the North.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that under Sapujjijiit, they could get that link, connections that haven\u2019t really been there, and we can also provide our expertise to potential users, or the people or groups who want to explore the Arctic in the word of sovereignty and security,\u201d said Harry Flaherty, president of Qikiqtaaluk.<\/p>\n

As the for-profit development arm of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, the more than 40-year-old Qikiqtaaluk is already well-established in the North through several subsidiaries and joint ventures that span sectors such as energy, mining, fisheries and telecommunications.<\/p>\n

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The corporation has been looking to become more involved with defence, Mr. Flaherty said, especially as so much of the discussion around the topic lately has been focused on the Arctic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been engaged in what\u2019s going on in the Arctic through our lifetime, so we always knew that there\u2019s a missing link when the federal government talks about the Arctic. They may have a conversation with political leaders, regional leaders, but there has never really been a communication link between the business sector and local individuals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Vice versa. ONE9 hopes this new partnership fills a gap it\u2019s missed when it comes to its work with Canadian defence startups. Namely, connections with people who are on the ground in the Arctic and have the knowledge companies need to be successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t sit here in Ottawa and tell you what\u2019s needed in the Arctic,\u201d said Glenn Cowan, founder of ONE9, adding that it\u2019s comical to think companies could be building for the North having never been there or spoken with people who live there.<\/p>\n

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As Sapujjijiit grows, Mr. Cowan said the company will also be able to offer its own defence products to help build capacity in the Arctic.<\/p>\n

Much of the work Qikiqtaaluk engages in is related to major projects, such as deep-sea ports, hospitals and housing. Mr. Cowan said through Sapujjijiit, ONE9 will introduce technology companies into new major northern infrastructure projects, connecting them to opportunities and ensuring Arctic capabilities are using the latest technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat, I\u2019d say, is the core. The finding, funding and delivery of capability and support of major Arctic challenges,\u201d Mr. Cowan said.<\/p>\n

For example, the building of Northern Operational Support Hubs, announced by the Department of National Defence in March, could be an opportunity for Sapujjijiit to step in and connect key partners, Mr. Cowan said. The military stations, to be located in Iqaluit, Inuvik and Yellowknife, are supposed to house airstrips, logistics facilities and equipment to help the Canadian Armed Forces increase their Arctic presence.<\/p>\n

There are hundreds of small- to medium-sized companies across Canada with technologies that could be useful for defence, according to a recent survey<\/a>. But not all of them know who to talk to or where to look when trying to break into the market, especially for Arctic applications, Mr. Cowan said. That\u2019s why ONE9 and Qikiqtaaluk created Sapujjijiit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t do what we want to do in the Arctic without them, and they can\u2019t solve the problems in the Arctic, technologically without us. So, it\u2019s a really powerful marriage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Harry Flaherty, right, CEO of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, gifts Glenn Cowan, left, founder of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[45,49,48,137,6347],"class_list":{"0":"post-232270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-entrepreneurship","12":"tag-ne-i"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232270","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=232270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}