Canada spends big on domestic ammunition production capacity
Canada’s defence minister, David J. McGuinty, announced a commitment to spend CAD$1.4bn ($1bn) to expand the nation’s ammunition production capacity.
This investment is possible due to the launch of the Canadian Defence Industry Resilience (CDIR), a central component of the country’s inaugural Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 17 February 2026.
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The programme is intended to increase defence industrial production capacity, build sovereign defence capabilities, and address critical supply chain vulnerabilities.
The strategic programme is prompted by uncertainty in both the geopolitical landscape and across global supply chains.
Specifically, the Canadian Government will provide up to $222.3m in financial assistance to IMT Precision in Ingersoll, Ontario. This will establish a new manufacturing facility capable of producing empty metal shells for more modern and effective 155mm artillery projectiles, thus reducing dependency on foreign suppliers.
Even amid political discrepancy with US President Donald Trump, Canada has continued to purchase munitions from the US defence industrial base toward the end of 2025, spending several billion dollars on air strike weapons among other defence systems.
“The new IMT facility will act as a vital backup to North American supply capabilities,” the Canadian Government release emphasised on 18 March, “thus strengthening Canada’s position within Nato.”
Focus on 155mm shells
Three additional contribution agreements have also been awarded under the CDIR to the Canadian segment of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Quebec:
- $258.9m to construct a nitrocellulose facility;
- up to $42.1m to establish Canada’s first facility capable of loading, assembling, and packing M231/232 charges used in 155mm artillery; and
- up to $467.3m to establish a manufacturing facility to load, assemble, and pack 155mm High‑Explosive projectiles.
But Government investment in 155mm shells goes further back; it is not the first time the Department of National Defense (DND) has invested heavily in IMT and other Canadian ammunition suppliers.
In 2023, the Government invested in IMT to increase the production capacity for the M107 variant of the 155 mm artillery metal projectile bodies from 3,000 rounds a month to 5,000.
