Ottawa Earmarks Nearly $1B for Bombardier Jet, Drone Facility, and Defence Research

Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly and Minister of National Defence David McGuinty pose during a group photo with an image of a Bombardier Global 6500 jet that will be purchased for defence related technology research, at the National Research Council Flight Research Lab in Ottawa, on March 9, 2026. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Ottawa is allocating more than $900 million to the National Research Council (NRC) to fund drone technology and other domestic defence initiatives, including the acquisition of a Bombardier jet for research.

The funding announced March 9 by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is part of the Defence Industrial Strategy unveiled by Prime Minister Mark Carney last month. The strategy aims to allocate $6.6 billion over the next five years to development of the domestic defence sector.