Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence and the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, concluded a successful trip to Washington, D.C.
While in Washington, Minister Blair and Minister Champagne met with industry leaders to discuss increased strategic collaboration in defence and aerospace procurement in the defence of North America. These stakeholders have strong ties to the Canadian economy and the Ministers discussed opportunities to promote shared Canada/U.S. defence and security objectives and economic prosperity on both sides of the border.
During their visit the Ministers also met with key members of Congress. Together, they discussed the long-standing bilateral relationship between our two countries and Canada's role as a strategic military partner, highlighting the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and our investment in areas such as continental defence and Arctic security.
As outlined in Our North, Strong and Free, our vision for defence, Canada is committed to redefining how government and industry collaborate in the defence and security of our country. Canada will be investing a further $8.1 billion over the next five years on defence, and $73 billion over the next 20 years. These investments build on Canada's NORAD Modernization Plan, announced in June 2022. This plan, backed by an investment of approximately $38 billion, is Canada's largest investment in NORAD in a generation.
