Canada is taking a decisive step to close one of the most persistent gaps in defence innovation: moving breakthrough research from laboratory success to operational reality.

On February 18, 2026, the Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS) launched a Call for Proposals (CFP) that will provide up to $50 million in non-repayable contributions over two years to establish new Defence Innovation Secure Hubs (DISHs). The focus is clear and strategic: quantum technologies and uncrewed systems (UxS), two domains that sit at the heart of Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy and the future of national security.

At stake is more than research funding. The DISH initiative is designed to reshape how Canada transitions emerging technologies into deployable capabilities for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), creating secure, mission-oriented environments where innovation can move at operational speed.

Canada’s quantum ecosystem is already internationally recognized. Canadian researchers and innovators are advancing quantum sensing, communications, computing, and cryptography — technologies with transformative potential for defence and security.

But global leadership in research does not automatically translate into operational advantage.

Transitioning quantum technologies from laboratory demonstrations into real-world defence applications requires secure facilities, close engagement with end users, and infrastructure capable of supporting rapid integration and testing. The new Quantum DISHs are designed to fill precisely that gap.

Within these trusted environments, innovators will be able to develop and refine defence-relevant quantum applications using specialized infrastructure while working directly with defence stakeholders. The objective is to accelerate development timelines while ensuring operational relevance from the outset.

In practical terms, the DISHs will help ensure that promising quantum breakthroughs are not stalled at the proof-of-concept stage but instead move efficiently toward integration within Canada’s sovereign defence capabilities.

If quantum technologies represent the strategic horizon, uncrewed systems are already reshaping the operational present.

UxS innovation spans platforms, sensors, communications, autonomy software, and enabling systems. Many of these technologies show strong promise at early stages. However, moving from prototype to operational deployment in defence contexts requires navigating complex challenges.

Electronic warfare, limited endurance, interoperability, regulatory compliance, and validation against operational concepts are all barriers that innovators must overcome. At the same time, defence and security stakeholders are increasingly focused on strengthening Canadian counter-UxS capabilities to protect forces, assets, and facilities from rapidly evolving threats.

The DISH model addresses these challenges directly.

By establishing secure hubs where innovators have access to defence end users, controlled testing environments, and integration opportunities within broader systems-of-systems, the program creates conditions for realistic experimentation. Technologies can be evaluated in contested and degraded environments — the kinds of conditions in which modern conflicts increasingly unfold.

The goal is not simply to build better prototypes, but to ensure that uncrewed and autonomous systems are tested, validated, and integrated in ways that reflect operational realities.

At its core, the DISH initiative tackles a long-standing structural issue in defence innovation: the “valley of death” between early-stage research and operational capability.

BOREALIS is seeking to establish hubs that accelerate the transition of cutting-edge Canadian research into deployable capabilities for the CAF. DISHs will serve as secure, mission-oriented environments where government, industry, academia, and not-for-profit organizations collaborate in trusted settings.

By providing access to secure infrastructure and sustained engagement with defence stakeholders and end users, the hubs are designed to ensure operational relevance from day one. Testing, validation, and integration will take place directly within defence-relevant environments rather than in isolation from end-user needs.

This approach aligns with Canada’s broader Defence Industrial Strategy by strengthening sovereign capability development while reinforcing domestic innovation ecosystems in critical technology domains.

As the Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, stated:

“Canada’s innovators are world-class. Through Defence Innovation Secure Hubs, we are connecting them directly with the Canadian Armed Forces to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation capabilities. These hubs provide secure spaces for testing, integration, and real-world application, helping us stay at the forefront of critical technologies like quantum and autonomous systems, and ensuring our Forces are ready for evolving threats.”

The DISH initiative reflects a broader strategic reality: emerging technologies such as quantum and autonomous systems are no longer peripheral to defence policy. They are central to national sovereignty, operational readiness, and industrial competitiveness.

By investing up to $50 million in secure, mission-driven hubs over two years, the Government of Canada is not simply funding research. It is building infrastructure — physical, organizational, and collaborative — that can shorten development cycles and strengthen Canada’s ability to field next-generation capabilities.

In a global environment defined by rapid technological change and evolving threats, the ability to move innovation from lab to field is itself a strategic advantage.

With the launch of this Call for Proposals, Canada is signaling that it intends to compete — and lead — in the secure development and deployment of quantum and uncrewed system technologies.