Calian Mobilizes Initial $100 Million to Accelerate Canada’s C5ISRT Defence Capabilities

Calian VENTURES-led initiative establishes national network of regional development labs to strengthen sovereignty, security, and operational readiness

As global security dynamics continue to shift and pressure on Arctic and continental defence grows, Canada is sharpening its focus on sovereign capability, trusted industrial capacity, and speed-to-field modernization. Against this backdrop, Calian Group Ltd. has launched a major new strategic initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of sovereign C5ISRT capabilities—mobilizing an initial collective investment of $100 million through its defence innovation orchestrator, Calian VENTURES.

The initiative is designed to move Canadian defence innovation more quickly from concept to operational capability, while ensuring that the underlying technologies, data, and integration pathways remain under trusted Canadian control. It brings together capital investment from VENTURES, co-development of new intellectual property between Calian and Canadian small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), contributions from regional investment agencies, and support from federal programs.

At its core, the effort recognizes that modern defence advantage no longer comes from individual platforms alone, but from how effectively nations integrate data, systems, and people across domains—at speed and at scale.

“Canada is facing a fundamentally different security environment and meeting the moment requires sustained investment, trusted partners and long-term commitment,” said Patrick Houston, Chief Executive Officer, Calian. “This investment reflects Calian’s confidence in Canada’s defence future and our responsibility as a Canadian company to help strengthen Canadian sovereignty as well as help build the Canadian defence industrial base.”

Building a Sea-to-Sea-to-Sea Innovation Backbone

The first major pillar of the initiative is the creation of a national, sea-to-sea-to-sea network of regional development labs. These labs will function as shared environments where defence technologies can be rapidly tested, validated, integrated, and scaled.

The model brings together SMEs, the Canadian Armed Forces, NATO, government, academia, and industry partners into collaborative ecosystems designed to shorten development cycles and reduce integration risk.

Rather than working in isolation, innovators will gain access to common infrastructure, technical expertise, and integration pathways—allowing promising technologies to be evaluated in realistic operational contexts and prepared for deployment faster.

For VENTURES partners and defence primes alike, the approach creates a practical bridge between innovation and operationalization, helping Canada move more quickly toward its defence objectives while strengthening Arctic sovereignty, enhancing national security at scale, and modernizing the Canadian Armed Forces.

Why C5ISRT Matters Now

C5ISRT—Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting—represents the modern defence architecture required to operate effectively in today’s contested, multi-domain environment.

Unlike legacy C4ISR approaches, C5ISRT integrates cyber and targeting as core operational functions. The result is faster decision-making, tighter sensor-to-effect integration, and resilient operations across land, sea, air, space, and cyber.

In practical terms, C5ISRT enables forces to sense, decide, and act with speed and precision—turning data into decisive advantage while operating in complex, degraded, and contested conditions.

“C5ISRT is not a future concept. It is an operational requirement of today’s battlefield and for Canada to own a truly sovereign capability,” said Chris Pogue, President, Defence and Space, Calian. “Mission success now depends on integrating data, systems and people across domains and the ability to sense, decide and act with speed and precision. Through this investment we are scaling the environments, integration pathways, and partnerships needed to turn innovation into operational capability, while ensuring Canada retains trusted, sovereign control of its defence data and systems.”

Calian’s Role in Canada’s C5ISRT Evolution

With more than four decades of experience supporting defence customers, Calian brings deep expertise in integrating people, systems, and operations across domains. Its capabilities span synthetic training, cybersecurity, space and satellite communications, systems engineering, and secure-by-design C5ISRT architectures—supported by Canadian-based GNSS and antenna manufacturing that strengthens sovereign supply and long-term sustainment.

Calian’s workforce includes hundreds of engineers and software developers, many of them veterans who understand the realities of modern operations and the consequences of system failure. That operationally grounded perspective, combined with the VENTURES innovation-orchestration model, positions Calian to help lead Canada’s transition from legacy defence systems toward a fully integrated C5ISRT future.

The result is not just faster innovation, but a more resilient, sovereign, and scalable defence ecosystem—one that strengthens Canada’s ability to protect its territory, assert Arctic sovereignty, and contribute meaningfully to allied operations.