OTTAWA (October 07, 2026): The Government of Canada introduced legislation this week that would establish the Defence Investment Agency (DIA) as a Crown corporation, giving the federal defence procurement body its own board, new commercial authorities and a home within the National Defence portfolio.

Bill C-40, Strengthening Canada’s Defence Sector, would create the Canadian Corporation for Defence Investment, which would continue to operate under the Defence Investment Agency name.

According to the government’s release, the corporation would have greater authority to negotiate and manage contracts and more autonomous approvals, while remaining subject to government oversight and accountable to Parliament.

The DIA was launched in October 2025 as a Special Operating Agency within Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), a structure the government describes as a way to begin operations while it developed a longer-term model. The government calls the proposed shift to Crown corporation status the next step in modernizing Canadian defence procurement.

What the bill proposes

• Establishing the DIA as a Crown corporation with its own Board of Directors
• Empowering the DIA to carry out defence production, procurement and investment activities, in support of capability requirements and priorities set by National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)
• Amending the National Defence Act to create an Associate Minister of National Defence for Procurement, who would be responsible to Parliament for the DIA
• Integrating the DIA into the National Defence portfolio to reduce handoffs and consolidate procurement and commercial authorities

Under the proposed model, DND, the CAF and the Canadian Coast Guard would keep responsibility for defining capability requirements, operational priorities and acceptance criteria, while the DIA would handle the path from validated requirement to contract award.

In the government’s news release, Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State (Defence Procurement), said Canada needs “institutions built to match the scale and urgency of that ambition,” adding that Crown corporation status would allow the agency to move faster and use defence investment to build a stronger Canadian defence industry.

Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement, said in the same release that “procurement and investment must live together,” connecting what the Armed Forces need with the investment to deliver it as well as the industrial capacity to sustain it.

Industry and allied markets

The government positions the DIA as a central delivery partner for Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy and its Build-Partner-Buy approach to procurement.

The release outlines that the corporation would also support joint procurement with allies, including initiatives aligned with Canada’s participation in Security Action for Europe (SAFE) and Readiness 2030, which the government says would give Canadian suppliers greater access to allied markets and supply chains.

The proposed changes are relevant to defence and dual-use technology companies across Ottawa-Gatineau that work with, or are looking to work with, federal defence buyers and allied partners. However, before changes would take effect, the bill must pass through Parliament.

• Read the full news release and backgrounder from the Defence Investment Agency.
• Discover how Ottawa-Gatineau, home to Canada’s national defence leadership,is advancing as Canada’s defence innovation hub at dihub.ca.