Canada's Dual-Use Infrastructure: Strategic Investment Convergence of Defence and Economic Development

Canada is fundamentally transforming how nations fund military readiness while driving economic prosperity. Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to reach 5% GDP defence spending by 2035, approximately $85 billion annually, represents more than traditional military procurement. Strategic innovation lies in dual-use infrastructure: projects that simultaneously serve defence requirements and civilian economic development. 

The Strategic Shift: From Single-Purpose to Dual-Function Investment 

Traditional defence spending is persistently criticised for economic inefficiency. Canada's dual-use approach directly addresses this by ensuring that every defence dollar generates a parallel civilian economic benefit. 

The newly established Defence Investment Agency ¹, operational from October 2025, prioritises dual-purpose infrastructure, delivering immediate benefits for military operations and Canadian communities. This represents a strategic departure from decades of procurement paralysis that left the Canadian Armed Forces waiting years for critical equipment while providing limited economic spillover. 

A range of strategic investments is being undertaken to advance military capabilities. These include initiatives to strengthen Ground-Based Air Defences, modernise artillery systems, enhance Arctic mobility through all-terrain vehicles, and upgrade or replace main battle tanks. 

Key policy framework: 

• NATO's Defence Investment Pledge: 3.5% GDP on traditional defence capabilities, plus 1.5% GDP on dual-use infrastructure by 2035 

• Major Projects Office: Fast-tracking nation-building projects with streamlined two-year maximum approval timelines 

• Indigenous Loan Guarantee Programme expansion: Increased from $5 billion to $10 billion,   ² supporting Indigenous equity ownership 

The Building Canada Act, which came into force in June 2025, provides the legislative backbone enabling rapid project advancement through single federal-provincial-territorial-Indigenous reviews rather than fragmented multi-year assessments. 

Arctic Economic and Security Corridor: Flagship Dual-Use Opportunity 

The Arctic Economic and Security Corridor exemplifies Canada's dual-use strategy at scale. This all-weather, land, and port-to-port-to-port infrastructure network will simultaneously enhance the Canadian Armed Forces' operational reach while unlocking critical mineral developments and connecting isolated northern communities. 

Currently under Major Projects Office review, the corridor integrates: 

• Military logistics and staging facilities supporting a year-round Arctic presence 

• Transportation infrastructure enabling critical mineral extraction and export 

• Community connectivity reduces isolation for northern populations 

• Indigenous equity ownership structures are built into the project architecture from inception 

Investment significance for European capital: 

The corridor addresses a strategic vulnerability identified by security analysts: Canada's permeable Arctic faces hybrid threats spanning civilian-military domains. Through its Polar Silk Road strategy³, foreign actors, particularly China, have sought Arctic infrastructure influence under commercial pretexts that carry latent military utility. 

Port of Churchill Plus: Indigenous Partnership Model 

Rooted in explicit partnership with Manitoba's Crown-Indigenous Corporation, the Port of Churchill Plus project demonstrates how dual-use infrastructure operationalises Indigenous reconciliation whilst serving defence requirements. 

The project encompasses: 

• Port facility upgrades enabling year-round operations with icebreaking capacity 

• All-weather road and upgraded rail connections 

• New energy corridor infrastructure 

• Explicit Indigenous equity ownership prioritisation 

Military applications include enhanced Arctic supply chain resilience and staging capacity for northern operations. Civilian applications span agricultural exports, critical mineral transportation, and northern community supply security. 

Technology and Innovation: Commercial Defence Crossover 

A recent survey identified 428 Canadian companies developing dual-use technologies with both defence and commercial applications, spanning quantum computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and autonomous systems. Yet bureaucratic procurement processes prevent most from participating in Canada's defence spending expansion. 

The Defence Investment Agency explicitly addresses this bottleneck by: 

• Deploying integrated procurement teams matching military needs with industrial capabilities 

• Enabling earlier engagement between the Canadian Armed Forces and domestic firms 

• Facilitating partnerships with UK, Australian, French, and European procurement bodies 

• Aligning with the EU's Readiness 2030 plan for allied defence supply chain reinforcement 

Investment opportunity structure: 

UK and European venture capital and growth equity investors can access Canadian dual-use technology companies positioned to capture defence procurement whilst maintaining commercial market revenues. Unlike traditional defence contractors facing binary military demand, dual-use firms maintain revenue diversity, reducing dependence on single procurement cycles. 

Federal programmes, including the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) initiative, provide non-dilutive capital for dual-use technology development, improving investor return profiles. Calgary's ConvergX Xpand Commercialisation Zone,⁴ which received a $2 million federal investment in October 2025, exemplifies emerging infrastructure supporting dual-use technology commercialisation. 

Northern Operational Support Hubs: Distributed Defence Infrastructure 

Canada's $2.67 billion investment over 20 years, establishing Northern Operational Support Hubs in Iqaluit, Inuvik, Yellowknife, and additional locations, represents dual-use infrastructure at the tactical level. 

These dispersed networks of airstrips, logistics facilities, and equipment extend the Canadian Armed Forces' operational reach whilst serving: 

• Emergency response capabilities for territorial governments and communities 

• Scientific research logistics supporting climate and environmental monitoring 

• Search and rescue coordination 

• Indigenous Ranger programme expansion (26.3% of Canadian Rangers self-identify as Indigenous) 

The hubs explicitly function as multi-use facilities designed through deliberate engagement with territorial governments, northern communities, and Indigenous partners throughout development. This whole-of-society approach ensures infrastructure investments serve overlapping military, civilian, Indigenous, scientific, and economic purposes rather than single-function defence installations. 

Navigating Investment Risks: Foreign Ownership and Strategic Sectors 

UK and European investors must recognise Canada's heightened scrutiny of foreign investment in dual-use infrastructure, particularly concerning opaque Chinese investment in Arctic ports and critical mineral projects. 

The Investment Canada Act currently undergoes extensive revision through Bill C-34⁵, strengthening federal authority over foreign investment in strategically sensitive sectors. However, this regulatory environment creates competitive advantages for allied European capital over adversarial state investment. 

Risk mitigation strategies: 

• Partner with Canadian entities holding majority ownership and operational control 

• Engage early with Indigenous communities holding territorial interests 

• Structure investments prioritising domestic economic benefit generation 

• Demonstrate alignment with Canadian sovereignty and security objectives 

• Establish transparent ownership structures meeting enhanced disclosure requirements 

Projects incorporating Indigenous partnership structures and demonstrating Canadian economic benefit generation face less regulatory friction than purely extractive foreign investment models. 

Integration with European Defence Priorities 

Canada's appointment of its first Arctic Ambassador and the EU-Canada Security and Defence Partnership signed in June 2025 create explicit frameworks for European defence cooperation extending to dual-use infrastructure. 

The partnership expands collaboration across cyber, maritime, and space security, all domains where dual-use infrastructure investments prove critical. For the first time, the 2025 EU-Canada joint statement included dedicated Arctic collaboration language emphasising peace, stability, sustainable economic development, Indigenous rights, and blue economy opportunities. 

NATO members, including Germany (which deploys Arctic naval vessels), the UK, France, and Nordic states, actively pursue Arctic security cooperation through exercises, knowledge exchange, and enhanced interoperability. Canadian dual-use infrastructure investments supporting these cooperation frameworks align with broader European defence industrial strategies while generating commercial returns. 

The Joint Expeditionary Force, comprising the UK and Nordic states, represents a proven northern rapid response framework. Canadian integration would further align European and Canadian Arctic security investments, creating additional partnership opportunities for institutional investors. 

Investment Implications: Structuring European Capital Participation 

Optimal investment vehicles: 

• Infrastructure funds targeting Canadian transportation, energy, and telecommunications sectors with defence applications 

• Private equity investments in dual-use technology companies accessing IDEaS and defence procurement 

• Project finance structures for significant infrastructure developments under the Major Projects Office review 

• Venture capital positions in companies participating in the defence supply chain development 

Strategic Positioning in Canada's Dual-Use Investment Landscape 

Canada's dual-use infrastructure strategy represents a fundamental reimagining of defence investment, generating parallel economic development. For UK and continental European institutional investors, this creates unprecedented access to stable, government-backed projects with Indigenous partnership structures, reducing typical resource development risks. 

 With more than $62 billion⁶ planned for defence spending, simpler rules, and a strong focus on Indigenous reconciliation, there is a short but vital time to plan and take action. After the June 2025 announcement, adding $9 billion to reach 2% of Canada’s GDP for defence in 2025–26, the projects now under review by the Major Projects Office will guide how future partnerships and developments will be done for many years. 

European investors bringing patient capital, sector expertise, and genuine partnership approaches to Indigenous communities will secure preferred positions in Canada's transformation of its northern frontiers into economically productive, militarily secure, and sustainably developed regions. 

The question facing UK and European institutional investors is not whether to participate in Canada's dual-use infrastructure development, but how to position capital and capabilities to capture optimal risk-adjusted returns in a market explicitly designed to align commercial investment with strategic national priorities.