PacifiCan invests over $46.6M in B.C. defence innovation

The Government of Canada (PacifiCan) announced an investment of over CAD 46.6 million in eight B.C. projects to accelerate defence innovation and integrate B.C. businesses into defence supply chains.

• Main announcement: PacifiCan announced CAD 46,672,430 in funding for eight projects across B.C., including three UBC projects totaling CAD 20,646,400, two Simon Fraser University projects totaling CAD 19,957,611, UBC-Sauder CDL (CAD 1,579,809), Alacrity (CAD 2,621,746), and Association of British Columbia Marine Industries (CAD 1,866,864); funding is intended to accelerate defence and dual-use technologies, quantum and secure communications, AI computing capacity, and pathogen detection capabilities.
• Additional details/background: Projects include a handheld automated pathogen detection system (CAD 7,137,482), Quantum Matter Institute equipment upgrades (CAD 4,750,000), the Asymmetric Last Line (ALL) research accelerator (CAD 8,758,918), Vancouver Quantum Network testbed (CAD 10,187,349), and a secure high-performing computing network for training AI models (CAD 9,770,262); the announcement is an official government backgrounder and lists contact details for media inquiries.