OTTAWA — With the prospect of public service cuts looming over the capital, an Ottawa economic development agency is making a pitch for federal help to grow out the local defence industry and turn it into an “innovation hub.”
Invest Ottawa, a not-for-profit local economic development group, is asking the federal government to grant the National Capital Region a “formal designation” as a “national defence innovation hub” and to “fully leverage and invest” in building up the local defence industry.
In a document submitted to a parliamentary committee studying budgetary requests ahead of the Nov. 4 budget, Invest Ottawa says it’s looking to create new “high-value jobs” in the Ottawa and Gatineau region and help develop new defence products for export.
A separate submission to the Department of Finance asks for funds for a new research and development site and a federal commitment to allocate a set share of new national defence hires to the Ottawa region.
Sonya Shorey, CEO of Invest Ottawa, says her organization sees an opportunity to “almost counterbalance and counteract” expected public sector losses, and to find opportunities for “upskilling and re-skilling.”
The federal government is looking to ramp up defence spending over the coming years to meet steep new NATO defence spending targets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
