Feds table bill to make Defence Investment Agency a Crown corporation

The Government of Canada introduced Bill C-40: Strengthening Canada’s Defence Sector, to establish the Defence Investment Agency (DIA) as a Crown corporation. This reform will provide the DIA with the authorities, operational flexibility, specialized expertise and organizational structure needed to deliver critical capabilities quicker.

“Canada is making a generational investment in our defence and security, and we need institutions built to match the scale and urgency of that ambition,” said Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State (Defence Procurement). “Establishing the Defence Investment Agency as a Crown corporation would give it the flexibility and specialized expertise to move faster, make strategic investments and deliver the capabilities our Armed Forces need.”

In October 2025, the federal government established the DIA to overhaul and streamline defence procurement.

This legislation:

• Creates the Canadian Corporation for Defence Investment, which will continue to operate under its existing name, the Defence Investment Agency. It will have more independence, its own Board of Directors, and greater authority to negotiate and manage contracts;
• Empowers the DIA to engage in defence production, procurement, and investment activities in support of national defence and the operational priorities, capability requirements and acceptance criteria established by the National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF);
• Maintains the Government of Canada’s oversight of the new Crown Corporation;
• Amends the National Defence Act to create an Associate Minister of National Defence for Procurement, who will be responsible to Parliament for the DIA, consolidate procurement and commercial authorities and strengthen accountability for procurement delivery within the National Defence portfolio, and
• Integrates the DIA with the National Defence portfolio to further reduce red tape that slows procurement down and ensures that defence procurement in Canada is focused on equipping the National Defence and CAF with the tools they need to defend Canada.

“Establishing the Defence Investment Agency as a Crown corporation is an important step in building the organization Canada needs to meet today’s defence and security challenges,” said Doug Guzman, CEO, Defence Investment Agency. “It will give the DIA the tools, flexibility, and expertise to move faster and make strategic investments that deliver capabilities for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard.”

Featured image: Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr. (Government of Canada)