October 1, 2026
‘We’ve just been blown away,’ U.K. defence association says during visit to Manitoba
· CBC News ·
Manitoba is trying to position itself to capture a share of Ottawa’s commitment to increase defence spending — with the ultimate goal of becoming an aerospace and military hub.
Manitoba is holding an invitation-only summit this week with aerospace and defence industry experts from the United Kingdom. Topics such as Arctic defence and sovereignty, supply chain integration and procurement are on the table.
“How does Manitoba participate, given the strengths that we have, but also get more than our fair share?” said Paul Soubry, executive champion of the Manitoba-Canada Defence Alliance, a new organization tasked with promoting the aerospace industry in this province.
In its 2025 fall budget, the federal government set aside an additional $81.8 billion for defence over five years, but did not provide any details on how the money will be allocated or how it will meet NATO’s spending target of five per cent of gross domestic product by 2035. In 2026-27, the Carney government plans to spend $48 billion on defence, according to budget estimates.
Numbers aside, for some of the U.K.-based companies attending the summit, the presence of three of the biggest aerospace companies in Manitoba — Boeing, Magellan Aerospace and Standard Aerospace — is of huge interest. Many will go on tours of those companies’ Winnipeg facilities on Tuesday.
“We’ve just been blown away by what we’ve seen here today by the sheer breadth and capacity and capabilities that Manitoba has,” said James Watson, membership growth director with Make U.K. Defence, a trade association representing more than 1,000 small- and medium-sized companies.
