Industry leaders pitch National Capital Region as defence innovation hub

A plan to significantly increase spending on Canada’s military industries could transform Ottawa into a hub for defence technology. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

As Canada prepares to boost defence spending and weighs a proposal to host a new global military bank, industry leaders in the National Capital Region say momentum is ramping up for Ottawa to become the country’s defence innovation hub.

Two long-standing Ottawa companies, Med-Eng and ICOR, are among the firms making that pitch. Both began as small startups, and now supply bomb suits, blast-protection tools and seats and robots to police, border agencies and militaries in nearly 100 countries.

“These suits and systems all serve one purpose, to protect the operator,” says Scott Thiel, who oversees Med-Eng’s explosive-ordnance and personal protective equipment line. “It’s incredibly rewarding. Our motto is ‘together we save lives,’ and we live by it every day.”

Med-Eng’s research and engineering teams design and test protective equipment at facilities in Ottawa and through live-blast trials at CFB Petawawa and the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory.

ICOR develops and manufactures its robots and protective systems at its Ottawa headquarters.

Aris Makris, Med-Eng’s chief technology officer, says the region’s research, development and technology strength keeps advancing.

“You touch all the elements of engineering within the same ecosystem of the Ottawa area,” he says. “There’s a hub of technical expertise we can access, and a laboratory environment that is very amendable to developing products rapidly.”

The region’s expanding R&D cluster is anchored by Area X.O, a public-private test facility used for robotics, drones, counter-drone systems and autonomous vehicles. The site hosts companies such as Rheinmetall Provectus, Sensofusion and FourDRobotics, all of which build defence or dual-use technologies for clients worldwide.

“Ottawa is already a global defence-innovation hub,” says Area X.O president and CEO Sonya Shorey.

Shorey points to more than 330 defence and security companies and four NATO test centres in the region as evidence of the capital’s defence ecosystem. Shorey also considers Ottawa’s proximity to federal labs, the Department of National Defence (DND) headquarters and more than 130 embassies an asset.

“Put all of that together, and we’re able to pull all of those strengths and put them to work in a really impactful way where companies are going to market faster and safely,” Shorey said.

“They’re generating revenue. They’re getting deals. They’re working with our allies partnering and creating new solutions that our forces and others around the world that share our values are pursuing those same goals and needs.”

Rheinmetall Provectus president Paul Rocco says being close to federal decision-makers and national security users is a strategic advantage.

“With the government investing more in military spending it makes sense for us to be here in Ottawa,” he says. ”We’re close to these decision makers that really drive the innovation process for defence ... and the more we can keep service men and women out of harm’s way by using autonomous technology, is really an advantage.”

Startups are also benefitting. Sensofusion, a Finland-based counter-drone firm now operating from Area X.O, develops systems that detect and neutralize aerial threats.

FourDRobotics, an Ottawa company, builds autonomous ground vehicles and recently completed a snow-plow safety sensor project for the City of Ottawa. President Jeremy James says access to defence users and feedback is critical.

“You get that from the different organizations that are based in Ottawa, DND, the Air Force, even the navy is here,” he says. “It’s important when you build systems that are vigilant and can protect things like airports borders, or the perimeter of nuclear power stations.”

Alongside the surge in defence activity, Ottawa is being considered as a potential host for a new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a World Bank-style institution that would finance security and dual-use technologies for allied nations.

Shorey said the Capital Region is the natural fit.

“We’re the perfect home. It’s the first of its kind and if it comes here, it will create 3500 jobs and it will deliver billions in GDP impact and economic impact into our region,” she says.

“Imagine that economic impact here and what we could do. The bank is also going to open up new opportunities for capital and investment, that our startups our scale-ups our innovators in defense, security and related fields, desperately need. This is not an area where we have typically seen the type of investment that is now being galvanized.”

Supporters say the proposal reinforces the region’s goal of strengthening Canada’s sovereignty and accelerating the development of technologies that support global stability.

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