feds dish out $29.4m for defence innovation to dartmouth's cove
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david j. mcguinty, minister of national defence, gives his remarks,during an innovation announcement at the centre for ocean ventures and entrepreneurship (cove) in dartmouth friday, nov. 21, 2025.
tim krochak
/
the chronicle herald
the government of canada will spend $29.4 million on the first maritime defence innovation secure hub (dish) at dartmouth’s cove.
defence minister david j. mcguinty made the announcement, alongside sean fraser, minister for the atlantic canada opportunities agency (acoa), on the dartmouth waterfront friday.
the pilot project marks the beginning of a national network of secure, purpose-built spaces where canadian researchers, scientists and trusted partners can co-develop, test and validate emerging technologies that require classified handling.
“as a leader in marine innovation, cove is the right place to pilot this initiative,” said mcguinty. “cove has become a proven ground for dual-use technologies, tools that strengthen our country’s national security and economic resilience. this centre is exactly what canada needs to stay globally competitive in this era of volatility and change.”
last month, the defence department’s science and technology organization defence research and development canada (drdc) signed collaboration agreements with cove and acoa to launch the pilot.
melanie nadeau, cove’s chief executive officer, said she is excited for the opportunity to turn canadian innovation into operational capabilities.
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“i believe that the establishment of this at cove is a defining moment for canada’s defence innovation,” said nadeau. “it’s a start, and i am excited for what is to come next. this is a strategic partnership and we are creating an engine for collaboration and capability development in national security.”
david j. mcguinty, minister of national defence, gives his remarks, as sean fraser, the minister responsible for the atlantic canada opportunities agency, looks on during an innovation announcement at the centre for ocean ventures and entrepreneurship (cove) in dartmouth on friday.
the hubs are to focus on critical areas of defence research and development, including quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, autonomous systems, arctic research and space. the maritime dish will focus on ocean technology in atlantic canada.
mcguinty said the it will unite defence and security partners, including industry, academia, naval operators and federal departments and agencies to collaboratively develop, test, and transition new maritime technologies. key areas of focus are to include undersea domain awareness, uncrewed and autonomous systems, advanced sensing and surveillance technologies and ai-enabled maritime analytics.
the government is working to create an innovation accelerator known as the bureau of research, engineering and advanced leadership in innovation and science (borealis). it is hoped borealis will provide a streamlined approach to harness science and technology across government, academia and industry.
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“borealis is designed to break down the barriers that slow down canada’s ability to adopt critical technologies,” said mcguinty. “for far too long, our innovative landscape has been fragmented across more than 130 federal departments and federal programs. that’s fragmentation.
“in the past, from breakthrough to battlefield has been long, costly and uncertain. borealis aims to change all of that. through borealis, we will be working towards a common goal, ensuring that those who wear the uniform are never left to fight tomorrow’s wars with yesterday’s tools.”
david j. mcguinty, minister of national defence, speaks at an announcement at the centre for ocean ventures and entrepreneurship (cove) in dartmouth on friday. in the foreground is a dusn (distributed underwater sensor network) developed by dartmouth-based omnitech. one of its uses is for detecting underwater acoustics.
tim krochak
fraser said it is important for canada to keep pace with a world that is constantly developing new technologies.
“one of the things i am most encouraged by is governments don’t have a reputation for moving at the speed of opportunity or the speed of threat but this is a proof point that with the federal budget, established investments in borealis only a few days ago are already leading to investments on the ground to the tune of almost $30 million,” said fraser. “we are developing an ecosystem, that is going to continue to foster this growth.
“the reality is we have an opportunity to advance solutions as the world rapidly adopts new technologies, one of which is right here in nova scotia. as the world is seeking new technologies to fight the wars of tomorrow, we have the opportunity with the growing technological ecosystem and military base here in atlantic canada to provide solutions.”
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the government money will be used in part to upgrade cove to a secure, top-secret facility, said mcguinty.
“it will involve some physical alterations,” he said. “it’s going to have a scif, a secure facility where you can do this work, have their labs and have the actual computer systems to do so. it is a fairly expensive proposition.
“it will allow our folks to come together from all sectors and combine their efforts to give rise to all kinds of new ideas and new products that we need, that we can build and we can sell.”
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