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Or sign-in if you have an account.Premier Susan Holt said there are several factors that make New Brunswick attractive to defence investors, including CFB Gagetown, the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity and two deep-water, ice-free ports. Photo by Adam Huras/BRUNSWICK NEWSWith the federal government making major investments in defence, New Brunswick’s premier says the province is ready to play a bigger role in the sector.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Accountor“New Brunswick is where Canada’s military is made,” Premier Susan Holt told Financial Post. “We have a history and knowledge in defence. There are more employees per capita working in defence in New Brunswick than pretty much any other province, so it’s long been a staple.”In May, the Carney government announced that more than $65 billion has been invested over the past year in defence and security, and Canada has reached 2 per cent of defence spending for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“The Defence Industrial Strategy positions Canadian industry to take advantage of $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities and $290 billion in defence-related capital investment opportunities in Canada over the next 10 years,” the announcement reads.The Holt Liberals want that money to flow east.“We’ve always played a big role in Canada’s defence, but we’re ready to play a bigger role as the Canadian Forces modernize and as the federal government makes major investments in our defence capabilities,” Holt said.The province’s economic development plan lists defence as one of three priority areas. Some of the objectives outlined in the plan include attracting federal infrastructure investments, expanding training and simulation capacity and growing cybersecurity capabilities.The plan has set an ambitious goal of 10 per cent economic growth, after inflation, by 2030. “One of the ways that we are going to deliver that is with investment in the defence sector,” Holt said. The premier said there are several factors that make New Brunswick attractive to investors. She highlighted that the province is home to the country’s second-largest military base, CFB Gagetown, located just outside the capital city of Fredericton, which is also home to the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity.Holt said the province also has infrastructure that lends itself well to the country’s defence needs, with two deep-water, ice-free ports, one of which already has security clearances needed for dangerous goods and material handling.“That makes us a great place to restock and supply, to turn naval fleets around, and get them appropriately maintained,” she said.“So when you pair our history, our leadership in training, our leadership in cybersecurity, our advanced manufacturing capacities and our ports, you’ve got New Brunswick set to really deliver for Canada and play an outsized role in this new period where we are seeing significant investment in modernization.”Holt’s excitement about the sector was felt at CANSEC, Canada’s global defence and security trade show. Holt attended the show in the spring and promoted New Brunswick as a defence hub and was only one of two premiers who took part.“That in and of itself sends a very clear message to the ecosystem,” said Cara Salci, vice president, growth, industry & corporate affairs at Thales Canada, one of the country’s leading major defence contractors.She said Holt’s presence at the trade show was a “signal of the co-operation” that’s needed to reach the country’s defence ambitions. Salci said it’s been a dynamic time for Canada’s defence sector and they’ve seen a shift in which levels of government are talking about defence.“Provinces across Canada, and I would say very actively, the province of New Brunswick, the province of Ontario and the province of Quebec, really lean into how they can play a role in supporting the establishment of defence and innovation ecosystems that can support the federal government’s call to action,” she said.“It is a team sport at the end of the day.”Shane Murphy, executive director of Thales Canada’s National Digital Excellence Centre in Fredericton, said in order to enable the growth articulated in the economic development strategy, there needs to be more than just a simple sectoral focus.“There needs to be a foundation on which all of the components of the strategy can come together,” he said, adding that it will take collaboration amongst industry, academia, government and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to lay that foundation.Murphy said that, as a prime contractor, that’s the role Thales is positioned to play within New Brunswick.“We are ready and are very much committed and energized to fuel the growth here in New Brunswick as part of a collaborative team,” he said. “We are positioned to do that, but the ecosystem needs to come together and be aligned in terms of the opportunities that we collectively see and position ourselves to get after them.”Thales is already helping facilitate defence spending in the province. In 2023, Thales was awarded the contract for Land C4ISR, a digital network that connects soldiers, vehicles, headquarters, and sensors so everyone shares the same “operational picture.”Salci said Plato, a Fredericton-based software testing company, was brought in as a partner on the project.“This is a company that, before the shifts in policies and strategies a year ago, they were very curious about wanting to work in the defence space,” she said. “It’s been a fantastic partnership.”Plato’s national director of sales Justin Beaton said there are huge opportunities for growth in the defence sector for organizations like Plato that are set up to take advantage of it.Beaton said while the company has been in business for 30 years, it was more recently that they saw defence as a growth opportunity making internal investments.Since then, they have expanded their employment base, expanded the company’s recruitment arm and opened two new offices in Ontario.“We recognized that there was an opportunity there where there would be increased spending that’s pushing to do more work in Canada, so we put that as an area of focus, and now we’re kind of seeing that come to fruition,” he said.Holt said her government has let companies know that the province is there to support them take on expansion projects, saying they want to back up the buzz felt in the sector.“New Brunswick wants to contribute to Canada and Canada’s strength and sovereignty in a time when it is critical. We know we have the innovative companies that are out there doing it, so I’m glad to see the buzz. We’ve got to back it up,” she said. “We’ll add the meat to go with the sizzle.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.