On September 10, 2026, in Calgary, Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce a new chapter in the Canada-Ukraine partnership. The agenda was ambitious: a series of strategic initiatives to accelerate drone production, strengthen Canadian defence industries, and support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. At the heart of this vision lies a major industrial bet: equip Canada with a sovereign capacity to produce unmanned systems, drawing on national expertise and the lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A National Digital Marketplace for Defence Drones
The Canadian government announced the creation of the Defence Drone Initiative Market, a national digital platform that will connect operators and end-users with Canada's industrial defence ecosystem. Inspired by the Brave1 initiative, globally recognized for its ability to rapidly mobilize Ukrainian industry, the marketplace will accelerate the discovery, acquisition, and deployment of unmanned systems and counter-drone systems. The Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Coast Guard, and Canada's allies and partners will benefit from privileged access to nearly 400 trusted Canadian suppliers.
Initial contracts worth up to $50 million have been awarded, with the goal of tenfold increasing the number of drones deployed by the Canadian Armed Forces. The medium-term ambition is even broader: create the industrial conditions needed to produce millions of drones over the next two years, by developing factories, supply chains, and key components domestically.
Six Canadian Companies at the Core of the Program
Six Canadian suppliers were selected for the initial contracts, covering intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones as well as unmanned ground vehicles. Two of them are based in Quebec. Beonyx, whose engineering, assembly, and manufacturing are entirely carried out in the province, offers a 100% Canadian unmanned ground vehicle solution. Volatus Aerospace, whose platform is manufactured in Montreal, provides contract management, logistics, training, and lifecycle support in Canada.
The four other selected suppliers are AVSS (New Brunswick and Ontario), with Ontario manufacturing and assembly using mostly Canadian components; Twenty20 Insight Inc. (Ontario), with full Canadian after-sales service; Draganfly (Saskatchewan), with established engineering, manufacturing, integration, and maintenance capabilities; and Objexis AI (Ontario), whose intellectual property, software, and avionics are of Canadian origin.
The contracts require that training, maintenance, repair, configuration, and sustainment be performed on Canadian soil. This condition directly supports specialized employment and technical expertise in Canada, while strengthening the country's ability to maintain its own defence systems across its territory.
The Canada-Ukraine Industrial Partnership
Alongside the national procurement announcements, the two heads of state highlighted a new strategic partnership between General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada and Ukrainian company Green Tech Harvest. Together, they will design and produce essential drones and related technologies, leveraging Canadian manufacturing capabilities to meet Ukraine's critical defence needs. This partnership builds on the one announced in May between Airlogix LLC and Sentinel Research and Development, and covers the entire value chain, from sourcing critical metals and minerals to advanced engineering work.
This co-production will create hundreds of good jobs in Canada and open new opportunities in skilled trades, advanced technologies, and fields related to defence and national security.
Major Benefits for the Aerospace Sector
For the Canadian aerospace industry, and Quebec's in particular, this announcement opens an unprecedented horizon of opportunity. The federal build, partner, buy strategy ensures that every defence dollar invested benefits Canadian workers and companies. SMEs specializing in manufacturing, electronics, embedded software, composites, or maintenance are directly targeted by the rapid expansion of Canada's defence drone ecosystem.
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