Overview
The Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC), in partnership with Global Advantage Consulting Group (GACG), is leading the National Conversation on Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS).
This national initiative brings together senior leaders across industry, government, academic institutions, and civil society to examine how Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy can serve as a powerful catalyst to strengthen domestic innovation, science, technology, and R&D capabilities. Through a multi-part panel series spanning key DIS pillars alongside targeted defence-adjacent sessions, expert editorials, and a national synthesis process, this project explores how multi-sector collaboration can bridge the gap between early-stage research, technological innovation, commercial scaling, and sovereign defence readiness.
The findings from this series will culminate in a comprehensive Synthesis Report, to be released in November 2026, which presents an analysis of stakeholder discussions and recommendations for more effective and coordinated engagement of defence investment with research and innovation capacities in Canada.
History of the Project
The National Conversation on Canada’s Innovation Strategy represents a landmark, multi-year initiative of the CSPC to deepen and broaden the national dialogue on innovation policy. Launched in 2024 and concluding in November 2025, this initiative aims to bring the private sector perspectives to inform Canada’s innovation strategy in the context of geopolitical uncertainty, economic transition, and technological change. It convened private sector association consultation sessions, virtual panel sessions, Innovation Policy Symposia, a suite of editorials and opinion pieces published as part of CSPC’s 2025 editorial series, which provided contextual commentary on emerging trends, strategic imperatives for Canada’s innovation agenda. Together, the components of the project enrich the conversation by highlighting both systemic barriers and promising pathways for growth across the national innovation landscape.
More information on previous activities is available here.
History of the Project
The Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) launched the National Conversation on Canada’s Innovation Strategy in 2024 and sought input and feedback from industry associations on how the strategy can address their challenges. The project included consultation sessions with industry associations, a special edition of the CSPC magazine and a symposium.
Why Do We Need a National Conversation on Defence Innovation & Capabilities?
The Defence Industrial Strategy outlines 10 core sovereign capabilities required for national security; transitioning strategic vision into technological reality demands unprecedented alignment across Canada’s research, industrial, and policy ecosystems.
As Canada’s premier science and innovation policy forum, the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) serves as the neutral national convener, championing the conversation on a whole-of-society approach. By bringing together government, industry primes, SMEs, academic researchers, Indigenous leadership, and civil society, CSPC will host the discussions on the cross-sector collaboration required to strengthen domestic R&D pipelines, accelerate dual-use technological innovation, and build a resilient national defence ecosystem.
This national dialogue addresses:
- Strengthening Defence Innovation & R&D Pipelines: Bridging early-stage academic and public research with commercialization, tech transfer, and procurement to build sovereign technologies.
- Multi-Sector R&D Collaboration: Convening government, industrial primes, SMEs, polytechnics, and higher-education institutions to co-develop dual-use solutions that bolster national security while driving domestic economic growth.
- Implementation & Commercialization Barriers: Identifying regulatory, funding, and intellectual property (IP) bottlenecks stalling the scaling and adoption of Canadian dual-use technologies.
- Leveraging Domestic Tech Advantages: Mobilizing Canadian strengths in AI, quantum, space, cybersecurity, critical minerals, and heavy manufacturing.
- Closing the Defence Skills & Research Talent Gap: Modernizing workforce and researcher training pipelines to attract, train, and retain high-tech talent within domestic borders.
- Whole-of-Society Resilience: Integrating civil non-profits, community infrastructure, and food security/agriculture into broader national readiness planning.
Four Analytical Themes
All consultations, panels, and publications are structured around four strategic pillars focused on innovation and capability-building:
2026 Panel Series Schedule & Core Pillars
The project features a mix of DIS Pillar Panels (directly aligned with federal strategy pillars) and Defence-Adjacent Panels (developed in response to strong stakeholder interest in broader national resilience).
Completed Summer Panels
- May 20, 2026 | DIS Pillar 1: Renewing the Relationship with Industry
Focus: Re-establishing trust, long-term demand signals, and strategic alignment between DND/procurement bodies and Canadian industrial primes and SMEs. - June 4, 2026 | Defence-Adjacent Panel: Agriculture, Food Security & National Resilience
Focus: Examining domestic food supply chain integrity, agricultural tech, and biosecurity as foundational elements of national readiness and surge capacity.
Upcoming Fall Panel Schedule
Civil Society & Community Infrastructure in National Resilience
Fusing AI, Quantum, Cybersecurity, and LEO Space for Sovereign Capability
Arctic Readiness, Dual-Use Infrastructure & Northern Innovation
R&D Mechanisms, Technology Transfer & Talent Pipelines
Critical Minerals, Advanced Materials, Steel, and Aluminum
Guiding Framework: The 10 Sovereign Capabilities
Across all sessions, panellists and contributors address a core question regarding national readiness and innovation:
“Regarding the 10 sovereign capabilities identified in the DIS, what is one specific area where Canada holds a world-leading R&D or industrial advantage, where are we critically dependent on foreign suppliers, and what concrete policy, research, or industrial intervention is urgently needed to bridge that gap?”
Expected Outcomes & Deliverables
- CSPC Editorial Series on Defence Industrial Strategy: A curated collection of expert editorials published in June 2026, featuring insights from leaders across government, academia, and industry on R&D alignment, dual-use technology, procurement reform, and sovereign capacity. Explore the published pieces on the CSPC DIS Editorial Series.
- Synthesis Report: A strategic report delivering actionable recommendations to government officials, research institutions, and industry partners (November 2026).
- Public Knowledge Base: Open-access video archives, event summaries, and editorial contributions accessible to policymakers, industry representatives, and academic researchers.
Partners & Collaborators
- Lead Convener: Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC)
- Strategic Knowledge Partner: Global Advantage Consulting Group (GACG)
How to Participate
- Attend the Virtual Series: Registration for upcoming sessions opens four weeks prior to each panel date.
- Partner / Sponsor: Organizations interested in supporting the National Conversation can contact the project team at [email protected].
Series Sessions
The videos of the live events are available on the individual panel websites. The series will culminate in individual report summaries, a cross-sectoral summary, and the 2025 Innovation Symposium.
2025 Editorials:
CSPC is proud to publish the special editorial series exploring how Canada can respond to today’s shifting geopolitical landscape through renewed and adaptive innovation strategies. This initiative brings together opinion pieces from leaders of industry, not-for-profit, and academia. These must-read editorials are available now: 2025 Canada’s Innovation Strategy Archives – CSPC
The 2024 opinion pieces are available here.
CSPC 2025 Innovation (in-Person) Symposium: Canada’s Innovation Strategy Navigating Geopolitical Shift – November 19, 9-12
The Innovation Strategy Symposium will convene senior leaders from industry, government, non-profit, and research. The goal is to translate the findings of CSPC’s National Conversation on Canada’s Innovation Strategy into concrete, policy-ready actions. The symposium will validate sector findings, identify cross-cutting policy levers, outline implementation steps, and will produce a concise, targeted policy brief timed to inform initiatives at the various levels of government.
2024 Innovation Strategy Symposium
The 2024 Innovation Strategy Symposium brought together interdisciplinary thought leaders and laid the groundwork for the 2025 virtual series. Listen in to and watch the cross-sectoral discussions HERE.
Innovation Series Reports – 2024:
The 2024 Innovation Consultation Series reports span the sectors of: Agriculture and Agri-Food; Advanced Manufacturing and Natural Resources; and Health, Bioscience, and Digital High-Tech. The Series Culminated in a Cross Sector Synthesis and Summary accessible HERE
Thank you to last year’s sponsors
Investment impact:
Make sure the voices and insights of your sector are being heard and seen. These sponsorship opportunities will ensure your organization’s brand exposure on this important national project.
