A company from Kitchener is receiving a multi-million dollar contract from the federal government. “Today, I’m very pleased to announce that Defence Investment Agency has awarded Colt Canada with a contract to supply the Canadian Armed Forced with up to 65,402 assault rifle systems under the Canadian Modular Assault Rifle Project,” secretary of state for defence procurement Stephn Fuhr said during the announcement on Thursday. The deal is worth approximately $307 million and will add up to 70 new jobs at Colt Canada. “The assault rifle is arguably the most decisive and critical tool at a soldier’s disposal. Our current C7/C8 assault rifles and carbines have been in service for 35 years,” Fuhr explained. The new rifles are expected to be delivered in 2027. Investing in homegrown defense The spending announcement came as Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to invest five per cent of Canada’s GDP in defense by 2035. “Obviously, we’ve been very reliant on our neighbours to the south for years and years,” Fuhr said. “We’ll still work with that neighbour, but we need to be much more resilient and less reliant than we were in the past.” It’s a sentiment that was echoed by Minister of National Defence David McGuinty. “We’re sending a clear and consistent signal to the private sector, to large firms, yes, but to small and medium sized businesses everywhere that Canada is open for defence business and we’re ready to invest here at home,” McGuinty said. McGuinty also made a stop at the University of Waterloo on Thursday to announce the National Research Council of Canada was investing over $900 million in a long-term plan to accelerate the development of defence and dual-use technologies. Business leaders in Waterloo Region welcomed the opportunity. “I’ve never seen anything like this before, so it’s a really important time for us to up our game and be part of the solution for what Canada really needs at this moment,” Tony La Mantia, CEO of Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation, said. Tech start-up hub, Accelerator Centre, said the shift to defence is already underway. “They want innovators and entrepreneurs to start thinking about defence and start thinking about how their technology might have a dual use application,” Tabitha Laverty, COO for Accelerator Centre, told CTV News. The Defence Ministry is asking companies that have developed technology for every-day and civilian use to consider if there could be defence or military applications as well.
