21M provincial investment takes U of A defence innovation to the next level
Press Release
New funding for DEFENDS will transform Alberta into the premier hub for innovators, industry and the Canadian Armed Forces to turn ideas into practical tools.
May 19, 2026 By Michael Brown
In a significant move to bolster national sovereignty and provincial economic resilience, the Government of Alberta has announced a $21-million investment into the University of Alberta to transform the province into the premier hub for defence innovation in Canada.
DEFENDS, the Dual-Use Ecosystem for Future Engineering, National Defence and Sovereignty, is a burgeoning partnership platform that connects university researchers, pan-Canadian businesses and the Canadian Armed Forces to turn innovative ideas into practical tools.
“This is Alberta's response to defence and security innovation for Canada,” says Dr. Jamie Hogan, professor in the U of A’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and DEFENDS lead. “We’re doing it in Alberta for Canada.”
Hogan says the strength of DEFENDS lies in its regional approach. Rather than centralizing all efforts in a single lab, the platform creates a co-ordinated ecosystem that taps into the varying strengths of municipalities around the province.
He points to Edmonton for its global standing in advanced manufacturing and as the home of Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, Calgary as a leader in aviation and aerospace technology, Medicine Hat as an emerging national specialist in drone and uncrewed systems, and Cold Lake as home to a world-class air range for high-stakes testing, to name a few.
“It’s about tapping into the regional industrial base,” Hogan explains. “Every Alberta region has an enduring quality, and everyone sees themselves in it. Every time we talk to people about DEFENDS, they see different opportunities for their community.”
Dr. Aminah Robinson Fayek, U of A vice-president (research), adds the U of A’s national leadership in defence is built on a foundation of trust and specialized, secure infrastructure. For instance, the U of A is home to the Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-use Technologies (CARDD-Tech), Canada’s only dedicated on-campus defence and dual-use technology research centre.
“We are sincerely grateful for the Government of Alberta’s support of DEFENDS,” says Robinson Fayek. “This support will allow us to expand our secure research infrastructure and ensure we are fully prepared to drive Canada’s defence research initiatives forward.”
This secure infrastructure allows Alberta innovators across disciplines — from robotics and physics to materials engineering — and grad students to work on sensitive technologies like high-temperature space components, drones and radar. These facilities act as an innovation platform where the military and industry can design and iterate mission-ready systems in a secure environment.
“Alberta’s post-secondary institutions are leading applied research and testing that strengthens Canada’s defence capabilities and supports our sovereignty,” says Myles McDougall, minister of advanced education. “DEFENDS brings institutions and industry together to move ideas into real-world solutions – creating new opportunities for students and researchers in leading-edge facilities and building the skilled talent Alberta needs to grow our economy and compete in emerging defence and aerospace markets.”
DEFENDS is designed to be a “mechanism” for collaboration that must exist if Canada is to meet what is ahead. It provides a pathway for Alberta’s small and medium-sized businesses like GN Corporations Inc. and Guardian Chemicals to enter the supply chains of prime contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and CAE.
“Alberta companies already build some of the best technology in the country, they just haven’t had a streamlined path into defence markets. DEFENDS changes that,” says Nate Glubish, minister of technology and innovation. “We have the research talent, the advanced manufacturing expertise, and now, DEFENDS gives them the facilities and connections they need to win contracts and keep the economic benefits right here in Alberta.”
The $21-million investment also recognizes Alberta’s geographic importance as the logistics gateway to the Arctic. DEFENDS focuses on dual-use technologies that serve the military but also have numerous civilian applications, such as using drones for wildfire management or advanced sensors for energy infrastructure.
This announcement comes on the heels of last week’s groundbreaking of the Edmonton International Airport’s International Cargo Hub, a federal initiative to increase airfield infrastructure, expand Canada’s supply chain capacity and strengthen trade corridors.
In February, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack helped launch the Edmonton Region Defence Alliance (ERDA). This co-ordinated partnership between the U of A, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Edmonton Global, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland and Edmonton International Airport (YEG) was formed to build on Edmonton’s position as a strategically located northern innovation and logistics powerhouse, and the backbone of the Western Canadian economy, to advance the region as a defence, security and dual-use technology hub.
In 2024, the U of A was designated as a NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) test centre.
“This positions Alberta as the premier place for innovation, and the University of Alberta at the core of that,” says Hogan.