Canada is about to embark on a massive rearmament campaign to retool our military but Saskatchewan will have some work to do to capitalize on this opportunity.
A key element of Prime Minister Carney’s new military renewal program is to Buy Local but this is a field where Saskatchewan has limited depth. We have a couple technology players that have a track record in military procurement, notably SED Systems in Saskatoon. PAMI at Humboldt has also done so equipment testing over the years. Another is Dumur Industries at White City.
But, interestingly, among the most high-profile players in this space are in the First Nations community.
Just last week, for example, Pasqua First Nation in the Qu’Appelle Valley announced the acquisition of a majority ownership position in a Montreal-based company specializing in building electronic harnesses for military applications.
This deepens the First Nation’s expertise developed through its ownership of Pro Metal Industries in Regina which has been a supplier to the Canadian Forces. Saskatoon-based JNE Welding is another First Nation-owned steel fabricator with a track record of meeting the stringent quality requirements of military procurement.
