Ready for Carney’s Defence Build-Up

When Mark Carney took office, few doubted his appetite for economic reform. Now, as Prime Minister, he is applying the same discipline to national security. Canada is preparing to spend more on defence—an overdue correction for a NATO member long accused of free-riding.

The effects will reach far beyond procurement spreadsheets: Ottawa’s build-up will reorder industrial priorities, pull in private capital, and test how quickly Canada can turn commercial innovation into military capability.

The end of business as usual

‍For decades, defence in Canada meant a small circle of primes and specialist suppliers. Carney’s push to accelerate procurement, meet NATO burden-sharing targets, and harden supply chains is prising that circle open.Ministries now court AI firms, autonomy and robotics start-ups, greentech companies, property developers, and financiers with the same seriousness once reserved for shipyards and airframers.

Dual-use is the new name for commercial companies seeking to enter the defence market: autonomous systems, climate-resilient energy, advanced materials, space-enabled services, and digital intelligence platforms are all moving from civil to military hands.

‍Capital joins the kit list

‍The build-up will not be funded by budgets alone.

Venture capital, private equity, and private banking are becoming as central to defence modernization as factories and test ranges. Scaling dual-use technology demands balance-sheet strength, regulatory fluency, and go-to-market discipline—areas where experienced intermediaries can make the difference between a promising pilot and a fielded capability.

‍Where advisory know-how matters

‍This is where Samuel Associates operates because our core business is defence advisory services. For many years we have guided Canadian, U.S., and international firms into Ottawa’s market and allied supply chains—translating technology into defence-ready proposals, navigating PSPC processes, structuring teams, and securing access to federal and provincial programmes.

• NATO fluency: We align bids to alliance capability targets and procurement pathways, helping clients position for multinational programmes and co-development opportunities.
• Export controls: We work with Global Affairs Canada on export-control permits—anticipating red flags, drafting filings, and enabling timely deliveries to NATO and allied partners.
• Finance connections: We connect innovators with private equity, venture capital, and private-banking partners to finance pilots, scale-up, and M&A.

Full-spectrum defence expertise

‍Our senior Samuel team spans all military services—Army, Navy, Air Force, Cyber, and Space—and adjacent national-security domains, including federal policing and critical infrastructure (energy, telecoms, transportation, ports).That breadth matters in a defence economy where digital, physical, and regulatory risks now converge.

Track record and trusted relationships

‍Over the past decade, Samuel Associates has worked with approximately 90% of Canada’s major defence primes, alongside a wide bench of SMEs and dual-use innovators.

We maintain trusted relationships across politics, government and the military —Parliament, central agencies, departments, Canadian Armed Forces and Crown corporations like EDC and CCC—earned through steady delivery and discretion. That network places us in a strong position to broker business-to-business introductions across supply chains, from technology pilots to long-term industrial partnerships.

In 2024, Canadian Defence Review (CDR) ranked Samuel Associates among Canada’s top defence and aerospace consulting firms—a recognition of our consistent record in delivering results for clients across the sector.

See Our Client Successes: A selection of wins and lessons learned is available on our Results page, covering defence market entry strategy, consortium building, export opportunities, Indigenous business and scale-ups.

Our success is our clients’—read their stories.

The opportunity—and the grind

Big platforms will endure: ships, aircraft, and armoured vehicles still anchor strategy. But they now compete for attention with cyber defence, energy resilience, advanced manufacturing in new materials, innovation hubs, and supply-chain security.

New entrants face a familiar grind: Controlled Goods registration, PSPC clearances, export-control regimes, and the discipline of compliance matrices. The opportunity is large, but so is the bureaucracy.Execution—not rhetoric—will separate winners from also-rans.

A global signal

‍Canada’s rearmament may be modest by global standards, but it signals something larger: the erosion of boundaries between economic, diplomatic, and security policy. Carney’s defence build-up is as much industrial strategy as military posture.

It is an invitation—for manufacturers, software firms, financiers, and infrastructure developers—to anchor themselves in Canada’s evolving security economy. Those that commit early, and partner wisely, will capture the gains.

Samuel Associates helps traditional primes, dual-use innovators and adjacent industry companies turn ambition into awarded work—across federal and provincial markets, NATO programmes, and allied exports.

If you’re ready to compete in Canada’s defence moment, Samuel is ready to help – contact us today at info@samuel.associates and let’s security Canada’s future together.