NRC IRAP reports $135 million in defence and dual-use technology support
Federal support for defence-focused SMEs has surpassed $135 million, widening funding access for firms developing strategic technologies and supply-chain capabilities.
The National Research Council of Canada said on October 14 that its Industrial Research Assistance Program has invested more than $135 million in defence and dual-use technologies through its Defence Industry Assist initiative, which began in January 2026. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced the cumulative funding in Ottawa, framing it as part of an effort to expand domestic technological capacity and supply-chain resilience. [1]
The program has assisted 860 Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, enabled more than 540 innovation projects and supported over 2,300 jobs since launch, according to NRC IRAP. Its assistance is intended to help businesses navigate defence-market and procurement processes, explore early research and development concepts, and refine or validate technologies approaching commercialization. [1]
Supported activity spans cybersecurity, communications infrastructure, maritime and underwater systems, aerospace, drones and space technologies. These areas can serve both defence and commercial markets, potentially giving participating firms a route to develop products with wider applications while building capabilities identified as strategically important by the federal government. [1]
The announcement provides an update on deployment of an existing federal initiative rather than a new tariff, market-access measure or bilateral trade negotiation. NRC IRAP said DI Assist supports innovation across the 10 sovereign capabilities set out in Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, while the government links the initiative to efforts to strengthen industrial capacity, help companies reach markets and compete internationally. [1]
For Canadian businesses, the immediate implication is greater evidence of available and already-disbursed support for eligible defence and dual-use innovation projects. The release does not identify individual recipients, specify funding by technology segment, or provide evidence of direct effects on cross-border trade volumes, prices or exports; consequently, its relevance to the dashboard is primarily as a Canadian industrial-capacity response. [1]
This is a meaningful Canadian industrial-policy update because NRC IRAP reports more than $135 million deployed to 860 SMEs working on defence and dual-use technologies, including supply-chain-relevant capabilities. The significance is limited to a mid-level rating because the release reports program results rather than a new trade restriction, countermeasure, or demonstrated change in bilateral trade flows, sector prices or export outcomes. [1]