Jobs Minister Kahlon says B.C. will try to capture rising federal military spending

Ravi Kahlon speaks during an announcement, in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon says the province is joining federal efforts to develop an “industrial strategy around national defence and sovereignty.”

Kahlon, who was speaking as part of a panel at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities annual convention in Victoria, says B.C. is looking at how it can capture federal commitments to increase military spending.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised NATO that Canada would boost military spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035, with 3.5 per cent going toward traditional military hardware and the rest on military-defence infrastructure.

Kahlon says Canada’s new military commitments mean billions of additional spending per year, starting with $9 billion this year, and there are opportunities for B.C. to secure some of that spending in the marine, aerospace and aviation sectors, among others areas.

Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, who was part of the same panel, says military money is going to be a “source of funding” that B.C. hasn’t received much of before, but could see more as the federal government expands that spending.

Kahlon says the government plans to reveal additional details about its broader economic direction in the face of American tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump within the next couple of months.

This report by Wolfgang Depner of The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.