Hostile Bid: Calian in Crosshairs?
An activist hedge fund threatens to flip our last sovereign C5ISR giant
🎯 Three-Shot Burst
Calian is one of the few large Canadian firms that still designs, integrates, and sustains sovereign defence tech, from NATO satellite gateways to electronic-warfare training.
An activist hedge fund just aimed a howitzer at that strategic asset. If Plantro decides to agitate for a sale, odds are overwhelming that the buyer will be an American prime.
Reality check: We’re sleepwalking toward foreign control of yet another critical defence node. Calian owns export-controlled IP for NATO SATCOM, GNSS-jamming testbeds, and cyber range tech. Once it’s under a U.S. parent, those technologies fall under ITAR/EAR. Canada then needs Washington sign-off to update its own gear, exactly the dependency Ottawa is scrambling to escape in munitions and drones.
The company also runs classified training for CAF and Five Eyes partners. A change of control triggers security-of-supply reviews that could delay or derail current programs just as NORAD modernization ramps.
Oh Canada: Calian has spent years rolling up niche Canadian defence suppliers into an integrated C5ISR and space-ops platform. Those synergies need time to fully pay off. A forced sale now liquidates future strategic leverage for a one-time multiple bump.
Will the IT division get severed from the company? Do any domestic defence primes have the balance-sheet firepower to match U.S. suitors? Can Canadian capital save the day?
Bottom line: Activist playbooks optimise for near-term TSR, not national capability depth. That’s fair game in commercial SaaS, lethal in defence.
If ISED doesn’t draw a red line via the Investment Canada Act, expect a feeding frenzy across the remaining Tier-2 defence base.
Related:
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Canada’s defence procurement secretary and Lockheed Martin meet in Texas, discuss purchase of fighter jets… What’s so important about Texas in defence?:
Smart ring maker Oura, a Finnish-American company, announced that it’s opening a manufacturing facility in Texas to better serve the US DoD
📋 Procurement Update
National summit to back procurement of homegrown tech
Efforts to promote made-in-Canada technology are gaining momentum as a coalition of companies and organizations are launching a summit to promote enterprise procurement of Canadian offerings.
“This conference is about accelerating the flywheel: when private companies buy Canadian tech, they create an impact that goes far beyond the contract”
— Founder Raymond Luk
The inaugural Source Canada conference will take place in Toronto on Oct. 22 with 150 CEOs and 50 enterprise buyers holding meetings and workshops.
Apply to attend here.
Related:
Last week, PM Carney went to Berlin and signed a pact with Germany on critical minerals. For decades, Canada’s supply chains have run almost entirely south to the U.S. Now we’re extending those chains across the Atlantic. Germany and Europe want secure supplies that don’t run through Beijing, and Canada gets to step in as the reliable partner
Canada can, and should, be the world’s elder statesman in critical minerals
The Second World War-era cabinet minister C.D. Howe created a crown corporation tasked with building everything from ammunition to warships. They got them built
How much to spend and where to buy equipment are the political choices PM Carney faces
The first in a four-part series on proposed US reforms to the DoD’s acqusition system:
Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Ron Lloyd with nine actionable decisions that will help strengthen Canadian defence procurement
💾 Canada’s first Defence Tech Hackathon
September 20 in Toronto at the DMZ
The Defence Tech Hackathon is a catalyst to jumpstart a world-class ecosystem that builds sovereign capability in Canada. Our goal is to attract top talent, rapidly prototype real-world solutions, and bridge the gap between innovators and military end-users.
🚨 We are pleased to announce that NordSpace is putting up a $10K cash prize for the hackathon. In addition, Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) at the Department of National Defence (DND) will be officially partnering with us.
Related:
A new hype video from ONE9: “Don’t mistake our kindness for weakness” will have you raring to go on the first Tuesday back from a long weekend
Photonic Inc. has been selected as a semi-finalist in the IDEaS NORAD Modernization Science and Technology Contest… Air, Missile Defense Top of NATO Tech Accelerator's Wish List
BYOD: A new Udemy course on how to build your first autonomous fixed-wing UAV
Hard Assets: Proposed SR&ED changes could boost tech companies and national productivity
A Skeptic’s View of the Hype Machine and Business Model of Neo-Defence Tech:
“Many of these neo-defense tech companies and their venture capital funders invoke the Russo–Ukrainian War to argue that “cheap mass” is essential in modern warfare… According to this perspective, what is needed is an industrial renaissance to build cheap weapons in large quantities… There are two problems with this narrative.”
💾 Deal Corner
Morningstar has released a lengthy report on how geopolitical tensions are driving a new supercycle for global defence markets.
A report by Dr. Rebecca Harding on financing defence spending — multipliers, multilateral banks, and the structure of collective security finance
Global Military Spending Rises While the US Takes a Relative Step Back:
🤝 Sovereign Capability
Building a Defence Tech Ecosystem in Canada
This week The Icebreaker talked to Evan McCann on his podcast about how we are building Canada’s defence innovation network:
Related:
Reindustrialization maximalist: The Business of American Military Deterrence:
You’ve heard the problems. A $2 million interceptor to shoot down a $2,000 drone. Ukraine consuming more artillery shells in two months than the U.S. produces in a year. U.S. antiship missiles expected to run out on day eight of any war over Taiwan. A single Chinese shipyard churns out more tonnage in a year than the U.S. has since World War II.
One Palantir executive thinks he has an answer… Manufacturing capacity determines military outcomes.
DoD is at a pivotal moment where it can acquire vastly more military capabilities as a service enabling greater speed, agility, and effectiveness:
How Canada can compete in a weaponized world economy
⚔️ Combat Readiness
Taiwan is preparing for a Chinese attack but its people don't think war is coming soon
The annual Han Kuang war games, which rehearse a military response to a Chinese attack, have been revamped to replace scripted exercises with more realistic simulations.
This year's edition was the longest and largest ever, with 22,000 reservist troops taking part, about 50% more than last year. Besides tackling grey zone warfare and disinformation campaigns, one main focus was to prepare for urban warfare.
Oh Canada: Canada is strengthening defence ties with Finland and Sweden. What can they teach us? NATO's newest members have advice for preparing citizens in a destabilized world
Related:
Calls mount for the Arctic to make national-interest list with launch of Major Projects Office: there’s an ‘Achilles heel in the North’
Tracking drones in the wild is one of computer vision’s hardest problems — an open-source GitHub model attempts to tackle it
Anduril CEO unveils the Fury unmanned fighter jet
A look at the race to replace Canada's rapidly aging fleet of submarines… UK secures £10bn deal to supply Norway with warships… South Korea bets big on reviving troubled US shipbuilding to woo Trump
How can today’s military recruitment strategies win over a generation that won’t fight?… Canadian Forces Patrol Pathfinders
The World War Two bomber that cost more than the atomic bomb
🍁 Canada’s Inaugural Defence Power 50 List
We have now closed nominations for Canada’s inaugural Defence Power 50 List. The list will recognize the most influential leaders and up-and-comers in the defence community who are critical to making the changes Canada needs.
The selection of this inaugural 2025 list is co-chaired by Erin O'Toole, Glenn Cowan, Philippe Lagassé, Sheldon McCormick, and Eliot Pence.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination!
🔫 Hot Shots
Silicon Valley: From In-Q-Tel to venture capital: George Hoyem on leadership & innovation… How Did the World’s Most Sophisticated Military Fall So Far Behind With Drone Warfare?… Electromagnetic weapon zaps drone swarm in seconds… Britain to turn Warrior armoured vehicles into drones… Blue Water Autonomy announces a $50M Series A led by Google Ventures… Defence groups are taking aim at underwater security:
Indo-Pacific: Canada’s recent defence MOU with Indonesia is a necessary first step in the region
IP free: How can we innovate if Canada does not properly protect intellectual property?… If Canadian data is sitting on a server in California, governed by U.S. law, let’s not kid ourselves—Canada has no sovereignty over that data… Intellectual Property in Canada: Technology Specialization and Competitive Advantage
UK innovation: Tech leaders and MoD Minister Maria Eagle tackle UK defence innovation
Birds of a feather: Investors flock to drone firms after PM Carney promises defence splurge
Blackout: Russia counters Ukrainian drones but turning off Russians’ mobile internet
Going on tour: Our partners at the European Defense Tech Hub are going on tour, having hosted three hackathons last year. They have a schedule of 10 more by December across Europe… Check out their new newsletter
Big in Japan: A case study in innovation and international collaboration in space
Moon base: The construction of a lunar settlement may be the most wondrous space achievement of our lives… putting nuclear reactors on the moon
Ties that bind: Natixis-parent BPCE sells first European defence bond
Battlefield comms: HIMERA launched in 2022 because Ukrainian units were struggling with radios that cost $10‑20k a piece yet still failed against Russian electronic warfare
Backfill: Canada scrambles to fill equipment gaps as it extends Latvia mission
Equity: Trump Pentagon weighing equity stakes in defense contractors like Lockheed
🤝 York University x The Icebreaker
The Icebreaker is partnering with York University to tackle the business of dual-use tech
On October 1, York University’s annual Ernest C. Mercier Lecture in Entrepreneurial Science — a joint initiative of the Schulich School of Business and Lassonde School of Engineering — will be co-hosted by The Icebreaker. The evening will feature a keynote by NordSpace CEO Rahul Goel, followed by a panel discussion (panelists to be announced) on dual-use tech.
Apply to attend if you are interested — spaces are limited.
If you’ve got battlefield intel, classified tips, or just want to call in an airstrike on our typos, hit “reply” and sound off. Whether it’s a new tech sighting, a rumour from the mess hall, or feedback on our comms, we want your SITREP.