What the Defence Industrial Strategy Actually Means for Canadian Manufacturers
On February 17, 2026, the federal government released the Defence Industrial Strategy. Every aerospace and defence manufacturer in Canada woke up that morning wondering what it meant for their company. Here is the direct answer.
The strategy establishes a BUILD-PARTNER-BUY framework. BUILD status means a capability is produced domestically. PARTNER means it is co-developed with an ally. BUY means it is purchased off the shelf, typically from a foreign supplier. The federal government will now prioritize BUILD over PARTNER over BUY for every major defence acquisition.
For Canadian manufacturers, BUILD status is the category that matters. A company that achieves BUILD classification for a specific capability is positioned ahead of every foreign competitor for procurement in that area, not just today but across the entire $38.6 billion NORAD modernization program over twenty years.
The window that is open right now: The Defence Investment Agency is accepting applications to its Strategic Partner framework this summer. The categories of capability that will receive BUILD classification are being defined now. Companies that engage the DIA before those categories are locked have the ability to argue for their technology's inclusion. Companies that engage after will be responding to a framework that was built without them.
Three things every Canadian defence manufacturer should do before June 2026. Register with the Defence Advisory Forum, the DIA's formal industry consultation mechanism. Request a Strategic Partner framework briefing from DIA officials. Engage the relevant ministerial office, National Defence and PSPC, to ensure your company's capabilities are understood before procurement categories are finalized.
The BUILD-PARTNER-BUY framework is not just a procurement policy. It is a decade-long allocation of federal spending that will determine which Canadian companies win and which ones watch from the outside. The allocation is happening now.
Northern Arc works with Canadian aerospace and defence manufacturers at the ministerial, DIA, and PMO level. If you want to understand where your company sits in the BUILD-PARTNER-BUY framework and what engaging the DIA looks like in practice.