New Brunswick has released a framework intended to grow its defence sector, attract investment and develop employment as the Canadian province seeks a larger role in the country’s military investment.
Premier Susan Holt released the province’s defence growth framework on 2 November at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. The plan sets out areas in which the province wants to develop businesses, technology and infrastructure. The government says defence-sector growth is intended to support its wider goal of increasing the provincial economy by 10 per cent by 2030.
The framework says real GDP from defence services in New Brunswick was C$762 million in 2025. That measure relates to defence services, while the plan addresses a wider set of industrial and infrastructure activities. It proposes measuring progress using defence-related GDP and employment in defence-related industries, but does not specify a numerical defence-related GDP target in the written framework.
The framework says New Brunswick has the second-highest rate of military employment per person in Canada. That military measure is not necessarily the same as employment across all industries connected to defence. The province wants more defence-related jobs, but the framework is a plan for future growth, not evidence that it has already delivered new posts.
Four areas of focus
The framework groups its priorities under industry and investment, technology and innovation, infrastructure and resources, and growth around the base and its community. For industry, the province identifies land systems, digital and cyber security, and advanced manufacturing as areas on which it wants to build.
The innovation priority is to develop New Brunswick as a defence innovation hub. On infrastructure and resources, the government points to ports and critical minerals. Its community strand covers growth alongside Base Gagetown and support for people who serve or have served.
The government says it plans to work with its defence task force and partners to develop opportunities. The framework says the task force will bring sector leaders together to advise on priorities, identify barriers and recommend practical approaches. Proposed collaborators include First Nations, businesses, post-secondary and research institutions, and communities. The intention is to help provincial companies participate in the wider defence sector, including federal contracts.
Neither the written framework nor the provincial release attaches a new funding amount to the plan. Identifying priorities does not by itself award a contract, establish a new funding pot or ensure that output and employment ambitions will be met.
Investment already under way
The provincial announcement comes alongside earlier federal commitments at Gagetown. In April 2026, Canada outlined more than C$1 billion in investments at the base, including approximately C$871 million for its range and training area. These are previously announced federal investments, not new spending unveiled with the provincial framework.
The contract for the first construction phase of the range project was awarded in June 2026 to New Brunswick-based K-Line Construction. The federal government marked the start of that phase in August and said it was expected to support about 100 jobs in the region. That number is an estimate of jobs supported, not a count of positions already filled.
The phase includes upgrades to priority roads, design work for the replacement of two bridges, modernisation of range infrastructure and replacement of medical and administrative facilities. In August, the second phase was expected to begin in 2028 and to include construction of infrastructure designed during the first.
Connecting research and suppliers
Earlier federal support in New Brunswick also shows the range of activities that can sit alongside conventional military infrastructure. In March 2026, the federal government announced C$813,739 for the University of New Brunswick to develop a maritime digital-twin project intended to model and monitor ports. The project is designed to support uses including port capacity, security and environmental monitoring.
In the same announcement, the federal government set out C$30,000 for CE3 Electronics in Dieppe for a cyber-security compliance initiative intended to help it meet certification requirements for Canadian and US defence contracts. Both funding announcements were made under a federal regional defence investment initiative and predate the provincial framework.
The provincial plan is meant to connect such capabilities with future opportunities as Canada invests in defence. Its effect will depend on what work is commissioned and delivered, how local firms participate, and whether progress in economic output and employment can be measured against the starting figures.
