Canada has announced the first project under its new BOREALIS national defense innovation framework, establishing a secure maritime technology hub in Halifax to drive research in autonomous systems, undersea sensing and artificial intelligence-enabled analytics.
Why Is Canada Prioritizing Maritime Innovation?
According to the Canadian Department of National Defence, the government will invest $20.8 million to stand up the Maritime Defence Innovation Secure Hub at the Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship, an ocean technology center in the municipality. The hub aims to enable Canadian researchers, defense partners and industry to co-develop and test emerging technologies in classified environments; build sovereign defense industrial capacity; and strengthen Canada’s contribution to NATO.
“Today’s investment connects the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces with the next generation of Canadian innovators,” said Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty. “We need to set up our industry for success – and we cannot do that if our armed forces and businesses are unable to share critical information. As Canada rebuilds, rearms and reinvests in our armed forces, we will build a strong industry to support our workers and communities across the country.”
The Halifax hub is the first in a planned nationwide network supporting dual-use advances in AI, quantum, biotechnology, space and Arctic science.
“We need stronger homegrown tools to keep Canada safe, so our government is setting up a secure place in Dartmouth where experts can work on new ocean and defence technology,” said Sean Fraser, the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. “This new hub, called the Maritime DISH, will help protect our coastline and the Arctic. It also means more good jobs in our region and more chances for local companies to work directly with our Armed Forces.”
Why Halifax Matters Strategically
Halifax hosts a dense ocean-technology ecosystem, including major universities, research centers, the North American regional office of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic and Canada’s Atlantic naval fleet.
The Canadian government describes the area as a strong foundation for advancing maritime innovation and supporting work under the new hub.