Canada, General Dynamics Partner in $1.4 Billion Armored-Combat-Support-Vehicle Agreement

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canada struck an agreement with General Dynamics for 190 armored combat support vehicles as the country continues to beef up its military hardware.

The country's army needs new vehicles as its presence grows at home and abroad and the strategic partnership with the defense contractor would expand the Canadian Armed Forces fleet to 550 armored vehicles and can support operations for decades to come, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday.

The investment of almost 2 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.4 billion) over four years adds to the big increase in military spending by Ottawa since Carney came to office, as he pledged to raise the amount of money put into defense to levels not seen in more than half a century.

The new armored combat support vehicles will feature next-generation capabilities to bolster an aging fleet, Carney said during a speech at General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada's factory in southern Ontario factory and research center, where each of the vehicles would be built.

The vehicles also will have state-of-the-art armor to safeguard soldiers in combat and be built for the future, with technologies capable of meeting the demands of modern warfare, he said.

General Dynamics vehicles have for decades supported the Canadian Armed Forces on military bases across Canada, in Afghanistan and in Latvia. Ottawa last week said it would provide another 35 vehicles to Ukraine to help in its fight against Russia.

"This new fleet will continue that legacy, serving our women and men in uniform on bases across the country," Carney said.

Ottawa estimates the partnership with General Dynamics will create and sustain more than 6,000 high-paying Canadian jobs each year over the next eight years, with a supply chain that includes technicians, steelworkers, engineers and electricians across the country.

The push for additional military vehicles comes on the heels of the federal government's decision to pick Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to supply up to 12 submarines in what is expected to be the largest defense procurement in Canadian history.

In the past year, Canada has met its North Atlantic Treaty Organization spending target of 2% of gross domestic product ahead of schedule and has promised to meet NATO's new target of 5% of GDP by 2035. The country has boosted pay to service members and last year established a new defense-investment agency to accelerate procurement.

Carney said the plan is to get the armed forces what they need, scale Canadian defense companies, and to put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in the strategic sectors of Canada's economy. While the government is focused on building in Canada and directing spending toward Canadian companies, it is partnering with allies where it can't build and buying equipment from allies when needed but with conditions that spur reinvestment in Canada's defense-industrial base.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2026 13:22 ET (17:22 GMT)