Sask. drone maker Draganfly has high hopes for Ottawa’s defence spending spree

Draganfly Inc. has manufactured aerial drones in Saskatoon for more than 25 years.

The drones are used around the world in search and rescue operations, agriculture and in the U.S. military, but the company still struggled to get the attention of Canada’s Department of National Defence.

“The reality is the Canadian government and the defence community would not want to deal with us previously unless we had foreign customers, unless we were a provider to the U.S. defence space or to other allies,” CEO Cameron Chell said in an interview.

“In Canada, we tend to chop off that poppy that sticks up a little bit and only really focus on those that are successful somewhere else.”

Chell thinks that attitude could change if the federal Liberal government follows through on its “Buy Canada” defence industrial strategy, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Montreal on Feb. 17.

“It's where Canada needs to stand in the world: using the defence industrial strategy as a platform to drive economic prosperity within the country, protect our sovereignty [and] establish our geopolitical position,” Chell said.

The plan prioritizes Canadian defence manufacturers, with a focus on small and mid-sized firms working in 10 priority sectors.

Chell said Canada’s supply chain is missing plenty of links because much of it has been “outsourced to foreign countries, whether they're allies or adversaries.”

Currently, 43 per cent of federal defence contracts are awarded to Canadian firms. Carney’s plan is to boost that number to 70 per cent within a decade.

“Defending Canada means more than the size of our military,” Carney said during Tuesday’s announcement. “It also means the strength of our industries, the resilience of our economy and our capacity to act independently when it matters most.”

There are other Saskatchewan-based companies working in the defence and aerospace industries, including SED Systems in Saskatoon (now part of the Calian group of companies) and Pro Metal Industries in Regina, which is owned by Pasqua First Nation.

Saskatchewan could play an important role in the new defence strategy, the provincial Ministry of Trade and Export Development said in a statement.

“The province’s advanced manufacturing sector is already producing components used by defence companies," the statement said.

"Saskatchewan has 10 of the 12 critical minerals that are necessary for defence, as well as a supportive and stable regulatory environment to supply what the industry needs."