Halifax’s defence sector is the region’s next growth engine, and Chamber members need to be ready to compete
I came to Halifax first as a twelve-year-old sea cadet, long before I understood what this city would come to mean to me. Twenty-four years in the Canadian Navy followed, then a real estate brokerage built from the ground up with my husband, Sébastien. Now, as I step into the role of Chair of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, I find myself back where I started: thinking about the sea, the service, and the sovereignty of this country.
This is strategy, not sentiment. Nova Scotia holds close to twenty percent of Canada’s defence and security workforce, though we make up only six percent of the national population. The Department of National Defence spent $2.4 billion in this province in 2023-24 alone, roughly five percent of our GDP. As Canada moves toward its NATO commitment of five percent of GDP spent on defence by 2035, that figure will grow substantially.
The opportunities ahead of us are concrete: a ten-year contract for sovereign space launch capability, the Regional Defence Investment Initiative, the Naval Shipbuilding Strategy, infrastructure upgrades across the base, and the new NATO DIANA Headquarters. The 2026 Defence Industrial Strategy sets a target of seventy percent of defence contracts going to Canadian firms over the next decade. For Halifax businesses ready to compete, this is our moment.
I understand this community because I served in it. I know what it means to work alongside the women who now command both the Atlantic Fleet and CFB Halifax, and I know how much our local businesses have to offer the people who wear the uniform.
The Chamber’s job this year is to make sure our members are not spectators to this growth. We will connect businesses with the information, policy access, and relationships they need to compete for these contracts and build lasting partnerships with the defence sector. Sovereignty used to be a word we used to describe intent. Today it describes a strategy, one Halifax is positioned to lead.
I am proud to take on this role at a moment like this, and I look forward to working with our incredible Board, our members, and our new President and CEO to turn this opportunity into results for our whole business community.
