Alberta, Canada’s New Arsenal?
On September 17th, Premier Danielle Smith issued mandate letters to provincial ministers, among them Alberta’s Minister for Jobs, Economy, Trade, and Immigration (JETI), Joseph Schow. The priorities listed in the letter were broad, including immigration, trade negotiations, international investment, and notably, direction to maximize federal and private investment in “defence related infrastructure and the defence industry in Alberta.”
On October 2nd, the federal government announced the establishment of the Defence Investment Agency (DIA), a new agency with responsibilities of “centralizing expertise, cutting red tape and streamlining decisions” in the field of defence procurement and investment. When considered together, the mandate letter to JETI and definitive federal action in defence procurement indicate what could be a significant evolution in the role of the defence sector as a source for economic development in Alberta. For government, industry, and other stakeholders in Alberta, the convergence posed by these announcements should raise significant questions about the future role of Alberta within the Canadian strategic picture and the subsequent opportunities now afforded by these developments.
Mandate Letters and Intent
Mandate letters communicate the Premier’s strategic intent to ministries and departments, in turn making their contents an indication of emerging priorities for the province. As such, it is significant that defence was noted not only in the letter to JETI, but to the Department of Intergovernmental and International Relations (IIR), a subsection of Executive Council. The September 25th letter to IIR explicitly tasks the department to act in support of JETI in attracting “military investment to the province.”
When taken in conjunction with each other, these recent directives to JETI and IIR suggest an intent to position Alberta as a competitive destination for federal defence investment. The language used citing “defence related infrastructure” to JETI and “military investment” to IIR is intentionally broad. The vagueness of language used in these mandate letters provides a wider range of funding opportunities for Alberta to attract, notably those associated with “dual use” infrastructure, or assets that serve both civilian and military purposes. Any civilian infrastructure that serves to enhance the Canadian Forces ability to maneuver, shield, sustain, and survive, can fall under the dual use definition including roads, airports, ports, or telecommunications.
A Shift in Priorities
The DIA’s establishment, a long-awaited federal election promise, marks a definitive step towards renewing Canada’s defence apparatus in an increasingly uncertain global security situation. With a conventional war being fought in Europe, concerns over the sovereignty of our Arctic territories, and increasingly unreliable defence partners, notably the United States, it is unsurprising that the Federal Government has committed to increasing defence spending to the NATO 2% standard by the end of the 2025-2026 financial year.
As stipulated under the Defence Investment Act, the DIA will be responsible for procurement projects valued above $100 Million, with smaller contracts to continue through the existing systems. With the projected target of 5% GDP spending on defence by 2035, it is clear that Canada’s defence industrial sector will be expected to grow. Additionally, as is already slated to occur in the Arctic, the expansion of dual use infrastructure projects should be expected to continue in the form of road, ports, telecom, and aviation facility investments.
Given the strategic importance of Alberta, it is likely that the province is to receive a sizeable amount of investment and attention as part of this shift in focus.
Alberta: A Strategic History
The strategic relevance of Alberta has remained consistent since the Second World War. Between 1939 and 1945, Alberta not only provided approximately 90,000 military personnel, but supported the war through production of materiel across the province. The vast nature of the province, also playing a role, allowed thousands of aviators under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train for combat in Europe, along with the ‘Lend Lease’ aircraft refueled for transit to the USSR. As the ‘Gateway to the North,’ the US sought to maintain logistics routes from Edmonton to Alaska, building hundreds of miles of road and airfields, a geographic reality which is now once again ever more relevant.
Today, Alberta is no less relevant to the defence of the nation. With more than 12,000 members of the Regular, Reserve, and Canadian Ranger Forces in four major bases across the province, Alberta continues to play a critical role as a home and training area for troops of the Canadian Forces. Included among these bases are Cold Lake, which houses a critical part of Canada’s NORAD commitment and is a future home for the incoming F35 fighter jet fleet. CFB Suffield, the largest base by area in Canada, serves as a Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) testing ground for a variety of systems.
Additionally, with the third largest oil reserve in the world, Alberta’s energy capacity enhances its strategic weight. With energy security increasingly uncertain, Alberta represents a secure and comparably ethical source of fossil fuels for Canada and its allies.
Defence in Alberta
Although often overshadowed by Quebec and Ontario, Alberta already supports a sizeable and diverse defence industrial base. Federal data as of 2024 estimated defence investment in Alberta as exceeding $1.1 billion annually.
Already present within Alberta are a number of companies engaged in a broad spectrum of manufacturing, development, and consulting activities within the defence sphere and directly to the CAF. In particular, the province retains a significantly sized Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) sector, with Alberta based companies such as UVAD, ArcField, and NextLevel providing manufacturing, consulting, and counter-UAS solutions. In addition to counter-UAS solutions, ArcField, based in Calgary, provides extensive supply chain management and maintenance expertise to the CAF. Recent high profile defence adjacent projects include the 2022 announcement of De Havilland Field outside of Calgary, a 1,500-acre facility intended for production of aircraft relevant to national security.
In addition to the private sector, Alberta has a strong R&D community through federal and educational institutions. As mentioned, CFB Suffield is one of Canada’ s premier DRDC proving grounds for a variety of applications ranging from UAS systems to chemical, biological, and nuclear defence technologies. Educational institutions such as the Universities of Alberta, Calgary, Lethbridge, and SAIT have engaged in dual-use programs with space-based, sensor, and AI applications for defence. The U of A is perhaps the strongest example of this fusion, as a member of the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic program and with its Center for Applied Research in Defence and Dual Use Technologies (CARDD-Tech).
Opportunities for the Future
Should the current defence spending trend continue, Alberta stands to benefit considerably. Federal commitments to domestic production and procurement reform within defence open doors for the provinces to provide competitive ecosystems for manufacturers. With its preexisting defence manufacturing base, pool of skilled labour, and an industry friendly environment, Alberta is well poised to capitalise on such an opportunity.
Should Alberta wish to capitalize, must develop the necessary frameworks to bridge private enterprise and federal initiatives within the province. It is in the interest of Alberta to follow through on the objectives outlined in the recent mandate letters, with emphasis on IIR to coordinate with federal agencies such as the DIA and DND in order to attract the specific manufacturers that are already slated to provide new equipment to the CAF. Additionally, further opportunity lies in the prospect of dual-use infrastructure investments that under federal funding may yield lasting improvements to transport, communications, and utilities for rural, northern, and Indigenous communities throughout the province.
Other options that Alberta can pursue in tandem to coordination with the federal government includes leveraging the experience of existing non-government organisations already operating within the province. One such organisation is the Alberta Aviation, Aerospace, and Defence Council, a non-profit volunteer organisation initially intended to represent the aviation community, which has as of this year grown to include the defence sector.
Any pursuit of the opportunities identified in and directed by the recent mandate letters rests on Alberta’s ability to properly coordinate with the federal government, private sector, and interest groups. Ultimately, with the right decisions Alberta stands a chance to become Canada’s new arsenal.
Key Takeaways
The mandate letters to JETI and IIR in addition to recent definitive efforts by the Federal Government, represent a rare alignment in national and provincial opportunity. Alberta is well positioned based on existing industrial capacity, military presence, and strategic importance to play a leading role in the future of Canada’s defence environment. However, to fully capitalize on this opportunity, Alberta must ensure that as per the direction of the mandate letters it does its utmost to coordinate with federal, local, and industry stakeholders. For Alberta’s public and private sector, this confluence of factors should be viewed as an opportunity for long term investment, growth, and a role to once again contribute to Canada’s rearmament in an increasingly uncertain world.