Canada’s defence boom is splitting SMEs into three speeds
A new BDC study finds established suppliers running near capacity while a larger pipeline of prospective entrants faces financing and compliance barriers. Canada’s defence ramp-up is reaching small and medium businesses at very different speeds. A new study from BDC, produced with The Icebreaker, sorts them into three groups: defence-focused firms trying to scale now, companies moving cautiously between civilian and military work, and prospective suppliers still working out how to get in. Demand is rising across all three. The firms best placed to meet it have the least room to grow, and the firms with room to grow are the least ready. The study surveyed 268 companies active in defence and 374 interested in entering. The sample was non-probabilistic and skews to Ontario, so it describes the firms surveyed rather than all Canadian SMEs. Three speeds Defence-heavy SMEs earn most of their revenue from the sector. They have customers and demand but no slack: 2...