Jay Matlock with the University of Victoria's Centre for Aerospace Research (left), Lisa Kalynchuk, UVic vice-president of research and innovation, and Victoria MP Will Greaves are pictured during the federal funding announcement on Tuesday, next to a display of drones and a satellite developed at the university. (University of Victoria)
The announcement had more context than usual. On March 31, the same week Canada confirmed it had achieved NATO's 2% defence expenditure target for the first time - the largest year-over-year increase in defence spending in generations - federal agency PacifiCan announced $13.8 million in investments across five British Columbia projects advancing AI and aerospace defence capabilities.
The announcement was made at UVic's Centre for Aerospace Research in North Saanich by Victoria MP Will Greaves, with drones and a satellite developed at the university on display.
What the Funding Covers
UVic's Centre for Aerospace Research receives $4 million to establish a satellite ground station and expand its testing facilities. The infrastructure will allow businesses to test, validate, and deploy new aerospace and digital technologies - creating shared capacity that small and medium-sized companies currently lack access to on their own.
A separate $1.43 million goes to UVic's Advanced Control and Intelligent Systems Lab, led by Homayoun Najjaran, to advance an AI-enabled drone surveying and mapping system. The autonomous system uses AI-driven data collection to deliver centimetre-scale mapping accuracy - capturing ground detail within one to five centimetres - without requiring on-site technical specialists. Najjaran described it simply: the drone goes to a location without an operator, does the mapping automatically, and AI handles the interpretation.
The civilian applications include land-use planning, housing development, infrastructure monitoring, and emergency response, particularly for smaller and remote communities including Indigenous communities. The defence applications include monitoring remote borders and supporting situational awareness across vast areas.
Beyond UVic, the $13.8 million package includes $2.5 million for Victoria's Atreides to commercialize an AI platform for unmanned systems data sharing and analysis, $3 million for Burnaby's Arcane Aerospace for new satellite technology, and $2.8 million for Burnaby's OSI Maritime to develop AI-driven collision avoidance systems.
The Policy Signal
Victoria MP Greaves framed the investment around Canada's defence procurement philosophy: Build, Partner, Buy. The goal is to give B.C. researchers and companies the tools, training, and connections to become suppliers to Canada's defence sector and trusted partners for allies.
The funding flows from the Regional Defence Investment Initiative, a three-year $379.2 million national program delivered through Canada's regional development agencies. PacifiCan is delivering $67.5 million through the initiative in B.C. between 2025 and 2028, with applications open until April 15, 2026.
For Canadian businesses with technologies that have defence or dual-use applications, the program represents a direct path into the defence supply chain. The B.C. investments signal that dual-use AI - technology that serves both civilian and defence purposes - is where Ottawa is placing deliberate bets as it rebuilds Canadian defence industrial capacity from the research and innovation layer up.
