Canada has established a new national Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace (DDIM), aiming to accelerate growth in its uncrewed systems capabilities and deepen security collaboration with Ukraine.
The initiative was revealed during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s official visit to Canada this week, where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged a series of measures to enhance both countries’ defence, diplomatic ties, and energy resilience.
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According to a statement from the Prime Minister of Canada, the new DDIM will serve as a digital portal connecting Canadian drone suppliers, operators, and end-users.
Modelled after Ukraine’s Brave1 system, the marketplace is designed to expedite the procurement and deployment of uncrewed platforms, including both drone and counter-drone systems, for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Nearly 400 Canadian suppliers will be accessible to both domestic and privileged international partners through this platform.
As part of the strategy, Canada has awarded initial contracts worth up to C$50m ($36m), intended to increase the number of drones deployed by the Canadian Armed Forces by a factor of 10.
The government said these contracts are part of efforts to develop a domestic industrial base capable of producing millions of drones over the next two years.
“These procurements put Canada’s Build-Partner-Buy approach into action,” the government noted, adding that requirements for training, maintenance, repair, and sustainment will take place domestically to support local jobs and expertise.
The suppliers named in the first tranche of contracts include Beonyx, AVSS, Volatus Aerospace, Twenty20 Insight Inc., Draganfly, and Objexis AI.
In addition, a new industrial partnership between General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada and Ukraine’s Green Tech Harvest aims to jointly develop and manufacture drones and associated technologies.
The collaboration will broaden joint work across all stages of drone production, from critical minerals to engineering, leveraging Canadian manufacturing to address Ukrainian defence needs.
Beyond immediate technology agreements, the leaders signed the historic Canada-Ukraine Declaration for a 100-Year Partnershipalongside a secondary Joint Declaration on Enhancement of the Defence and Security Cooperation, cementing a long-term roadmap for defence industrial cooperation and economic growth.
As part of immediate ongoing support, Prime Minister Carney announced C$350m for air defence interceptors via the US-led JUMPSTART programme, and nearly C$23m to counter hybrid threats.
Addressing Ukraine’s critical winter infrastructure needs, Canada also pledged C$435min loan guarantees through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alongside C$200m in concessional loans via Export Development Canada for reconstruction efforts.
With these newly announced investments, Canada’s total pledged assistance to Ukraine since 2022 now exceeds C$26bn.
