Invest Ottawa Showcases Ottawa’s Defence Innovation Hub to Canada’s Allies
Press Release
Jan 23, 2026
This week, Invest Ottawa welcomed defence attachés representing 20+ allied nations for a dedicated briefing on Canada’s Defence Innovation Hub in Ottawa.
The session brought together international representatives to learn more about how Ottawa’s Defence Innovation Hub is strengthening Canada’s defence innovation ecosystem and accelerating the development of dual-use technologies, and deepening collaboration with allies at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
This gathering was an opportunity to gain early insights into the Hub’s mission, the 10 goals established in the national defence innovation strategy, and a chance to explore avenues for bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Participants also received an overview of Ottawa’s role as a NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) Test Centre, including how allied nations and industry partners can engage with testing infrastructure, innovation pathways, and collaborative development opportunities.
Ottawa – Canada’s Innovation Hub
Attachés also gained insights on why Canada’s Capital Region is the natural home for a national defence innovation hub.
Ottawa–Gatineau is the only region in the country where national defence leadership, global diplomacy and policy makers, security-cleared institutions, federal research capacity, and a dense defence technology ecosystem of innovators operate side by side.
The Capital Region is home to Canada’s defence, security, intelligence, and financial governance institutions, as well as a growing network of defence, aerospace, cyber, space, and dual-use technology companies delivering real-world capabilities for Canada and its allies.
This proximity matters. For allied partners, it enables direct engagement with innovators, operators, policymakers, and test environments in one place. For Canadian companies, the unique regional work to attribute accelerates collaboration, validation, and deployment.
The region is home to:
Over 330 Defence, Aerospace and Cybersecurity companies
130 Embassies
4 NATO DIANA facilities
65+ Federal labs
Close to 100,000 tech workers
10,000 highly skilled defence and security staff
And the highest tech talent concentration in North America at 12%.
A Timely Conversation
The briefing comes at a moment of accelerating defence investment and renewed focus on sovereignty.
As allies accelerate their work to modernize capabilities and strengthen resilience, Ottawa’s defence innovation community is positioned to play a practical role in connecting innovation to operational needs.