Strategic Advisory
Indigenous Defence:
Why It Matters Now
Canada is in a new security and industrial cycle: Arctic sovereignty, NORAD modernization, cyber resilience, and allied rearmament are driving higher and more sustained defence and security investment.
Indigenous Defence is key because Indigenous Nations sit at the intersection of Canada’s sovereignty, critical infrastructure, and the supply chains that will define Canada’s defence readiness for decades.
Policy Context
A New Security & Industrial Cycle
Canada’s own defence policy trajectory anticipates major long-term investment, including commitments tied to NATO expectations and domestic capability building.
At the same time, Canada and Ontario have moved to accelerate “nation-building” infrastructure through a “one project, one review” approach.
Why This Matters for Defence
Modern security is increasingly infrastructure-driven: ports, roads, energy systems, telecom networks, northern logistics, and emergency preparedness are all defence-adjacent capabilities.
The Core Point
Indigenous Nations sit at the intersection of:
Sovereignty & Geography
Canada’s sovereignty and northern geography
Infrastructure Corridors
Critical infrastructure corridors and project approvals
Supply Chains
The supply chains and procurement systems that will define Canada’s defence readiness
This is not a niche file. It is increasingly the centre of the map.
The Core Point
Why Indigenous Defence Participation Is Strategically Essential
Sovereignty is Geographic
Canada’s North is a strategic theatre. Canada’s defence policy explicitly prioritizes Arctic and northern security and outlines long-term investment to assert sovereignty and modernize capabilities. Indigenous Nations are the long-term rights holders, communities, and governing partners in many of the regions most directly tied to sovereignty, surveillance, mobility, and resilience.
NATO Commitments Are Driving Real Spending
Canada has reiterated NATO-related commitments and investment pledges, including a renewed pledge framework and a push toward materially higher defence and security spending over time. This will translate into:
Acceleration Without Governance Creates Risk
Governments are moving to speed up major projects, including in Ontario, through streamlined assessments. But speed is not the same as certainty. Defence-adjacent infrastructure that touches Indigenous lands and rights must be built on durable governance frameworks. Otherwise, project timelines and political risk increase—not decrease.
Practical Economics
Where the Opportunities Are for First Nations
This is where ‘Indigenous Defence’ becomes practical economics.
A
Procurement and Set-Asides
Direct Revenue
Canada has a mandatory 5% Indigenous procurement target for federal contracting, creating a policy tailwind for Indigenous firms in defence and security supply chains. Ontario also has an Indigenous Procurement Program.
Indigenous businesses can position for:
Defence Construction Canada (DCC) explicitly promotes Indigenous business participation in defence infrastructure procurement and outreach.
B
Industrial & Supply Chain Partnerships
Scale + Capability
Defence procurement increasingly rewards resilient, local, and allied supply chains. Indigenous-owned firms can become preferred partners—particularly when primes must demonstrate meaningful Indigenous participation as part of value propositions and delivery models (including long-term sustainment).
The Canadian Council for Indigenous Business has highlighted defence procurement’s potential while noting Indigenous underrepresentation—i.e., a gap and growth opportunity.
C
IBAs & Rights-Based Agreements
Defence
Defence-related projects can require new builds and upgrades at bases, training facilities and ranges, northern ports, airports, roads, telecom systems, and emergency preparedness infrastructure.
Where these intersect with Indigenous rights and territories, opportunities exist to structure:
D
“Dual-Use” Markets
Defence + Civil Resilience
Many capabilities funded under defence and security also serve civil resilience. Canada’s defence/security investment framing increasingly recognizes this broader resilience layer.
Our Approach
How Alex Bishop Operates in This Space
Alex’s value in Indigenous Defence is not “commentary.” It is execution—bridging governance, strategy, and delivery.
This is the difference between a “good relationship” and a durable economic outcome: structures that survive the project cycle.
Next Steps
Calls to Action
If you are a Nation, a prime, or a public-sector stakeholder: