Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII)
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The Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII) is a $357.7 million program delivered by Canada's Regional Development Agencies to support Canada's defence and security needs while bolstering regional economic development.
CanNor is delivering up to $40.5 million under this initiative in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon over three years, starting in 2025-2026.
The RDII aims to accelerate the integration of businesses and regional ecosystems into domestic and international defence supply chains and increase their industrial and innovation capacity, while also supporting defence-related strategic regional assets in targeted circumstances. This will help Canada fulfill its two percent of GDP defence spending commitment to NATO.
Eligible recipients
Eligible recipients include:
- Businesses, mainly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that are active or wish to position themselves in the defence industry supply chain, including through dual-use products or services.
- Not-for-profit organizations, including industry associations and consortia, business accelerators and incubators, etc. that support SMEs.
- Indigenous recipients.
- Provincial, territorial and municipal authorities.
Eligible activities
Activities should align with the initiative's objectives, namely:
- strengthening Canada's defence industrial base,
- integrating SMEs into domestic and international defence supply chains,
- enhancing industrial and innovation capacity, and
- supporting strategic regional assets to meet Canada's defence and security needs while fostering regional economic development.
RDAs will provide funding to foster investments along the following streams:
- Scale-up and productivity for businesses, mainly SMEs, to integrate into domestic and international defence supply chains, and respond to military procurement opportunities Eligible activities include:
- Technology demonstration, adoption and adaptation.
- Improvement of productivity or manufacturing capacity.
- Commercialization, market development and expansion.
- Certification required to integrate defence supply chains.
- Development or improvement of dual-use technologies with both civilian and military applications.
- Regional innovation ecosystem development to help SMEs meet Canada's defence and security needs. Eligible activities include:
- Business and ecosystem support, market development and advisory services.
- Establishment of research centres and centres of expertise for defence-related regional innovation.
- Development of targeted defence-related strategic regional assets, including small-scale or dual-use infrastructure. Eligible activities include:
- Preparatory work to advance small defence infrastructure projects.
- Construction of public or private infrastructure that is or could be used for defence purposes, including dual-use and multi-purpose transportation, energy and communication projects.
Priority may be given to projects demonstrating the strongest impact in:
- integrating Canadian businesses into defence supply chains
- enhancing productivity and competitiveness
- generating strong economic benefits
- strengthening defence-related regional infrastructure (particularly in the North)
- advancing Indigenous economic inclusion
- aligning with the Buy Canadian Policy
Financial assistance
- Contributions to SMEs are normally repayable.
- Contributions to NPOs and eligible Indigenous entities are normally non-repayable.
How to apply?
If you believe the Regional Defence Investment Initiative is a good fit for your project, please contact operations@cannor.gc.ca or your CanNor Regional Office to express your interest or request more information.