With the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIA) now out, MDA Space has created a new subsidiary, 49North, in an attempt to capture billions of expected defence procurement funds.
MDA said the new company will focus on multi-domain C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and mission-critical capabilities.
Led by Joe Armstrong, the company is immediately positioning itself to bid on and sustain major naval, aviation, and airborne surveillance contracts, heavily emphasizing its role as a ‘sovereign Canadian provider’ capable of integrating complex sensors for maritime and drone platforms. Before joining 49North was most recently at Prospectus Associates but before that spent over 23 years at CAE.
This DIA unlocks $180 billion in direct defence procurement opportunities over the next decade, prioritizing domestic companies. In fact, the government has stated a goal of increasing the share of defence acquisitions awarded to Canadian firms to 70%.
This is where 49North fits. Billed as a “sovereign Canadian provider,” the subsidiary is explicitly structured to bypass the space domain and compete for terrestrial prime-contractor roles across naval, aviation, and airborne surveillance sectors.
At the core of 49North’s mandate is the highly lucrative C4ISR market. Modern warfare and border security no longer rely just on individual ships or aircraft; they rely on massive, integrated data networks that fuse sensor data, radar, and communications into a single operational picture.
The Canadian military is actively seeking domestic partners capable of integrating these complex “system of systems.” The government’s shift toward agile procurement—favouring companies that can deploy tech quickly and adapt in the field—favours an established entity like MDA Space. By spinning out 49North, MDA is leveraging its half-century of engineering rigour to capture the massive capital flowing into sovereign data-fusion and autonomous drone platforms.
Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space said, “An addition to our well-known space capability, 49North is a natural extension and evolution of our commitment to provide urgently needed sovereign defence capabilities across all defence domains. By bringing together proven defence and mission-critical systems expertise developed within MDA Space under a dedicated organization, 49North enhances domestic industrial capacity and investment, and delivers the disciplined execution required to support Canada’s sovereignty, security, and trusted allied partnerships.”
The government has already earmarked $4.2 billion in funding for one related project, the over-the-horizon radar (A-OTHR) and Arctic surveillance.