The federal government is creating a new Defence Investment Agency aimed at cutting through Canada’s notoriously slow and complicated military procurement system.
Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr announced the agency on Wednesday, saying it will centralize and streamline how the Canadian Armed Forces acquires its equipment, speeding up deliveries to better meet operational needs.
The agency will be managed by Doug Guzman, a former Royal Bank of Canada executive, and will operate within Public Services and Procurement Canada. The move reflects Prime Minister Mark Carney’s campaign promise to overhaul defence purchasing, which has long been plagued by delays and inefficiencies.
The idea of a dedicated procurement agency first surfaced in 2019 under the Liberals, but was shelved when the COVID-19 pandemic shifted government priorities. Its revival comes as Canada works to meet its NATO pledge of spending two per cent of GDP on national defence — a target the country has not consistently reached since the Cold War.
By giving procurement its own leadership and structure, the Liberals say they hope to accelerate the modernization of Canada’s armed forces and demonstrate to allies that Ottawa is serious about defence commitments.