Federal government announces a new Small and Medium Business Procurement Program to reduce barriers for Canadian firms in federal procurement, alongside the first pillars of Canada's forthcoming national AI strategy. Buy Canadian Policy already credited with $520M+ in contracts.

The National Research Council receives $900M to stand up a drone innovation hub, launch the IRAP Defence Industry Assist program for Canadian SMEs, and advance quantum applications. The DI Assist stream alone is $244M directed at small AI companies.

The Business Development Bank of Canada receives an additional $1.2B federal injection, bringing its defence-focused venture capital and lending platform to $6B, specifically targeting Canadian SMBs in defence and dual-use technology.

Five BC companies receive funding including AI-powered drone mapping, AI-augmented collision avoidance, and satellite ground station infrastructure. PacifiCan's $67.5M BC allocation under RDII runs 2025–2028 and is still open for applications.

PM Carney launches the DIS, $180B in procurement over 10 years, 70% target for Canadian firms, AI named as a sovereign capability area. The single most significant shift in Canadian defence procurement policy in decades.

Minister Joly announces the DI Assist initiative formally, $244.2M in funding and advisory services specifically for high-potential Canadian SMEs advancing made-in-Canada defence and dual-use technologies. Applications open now.

Canada's new Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS) opens a call for proposals to establish Defence Innovation Secure Hubs focused on quantum and uncrewed systems with AI-enabled analytics explicitly named.

RDII opens for SMB applications, $379M delivered through regional development agencies to integrate Canadian SMEs into domestic and international defence supply chains. Eligible for dual-use tech companies including AI.

The flagship AI investment in Canada's federal budget: $925.6M to build Canadian sovereign AI compute capacity, giving domestic companies access to secure, Canadian-compliant supercomputing to develop advanced AI models without foreign infrastructure dependency.