Canada is a world leader in materials science, and Equispheres, a local Ottawa company that's part of the ONE9 ecosystem, is the world leader in aluminum powder for 3D printing. It's homegrown, breakthrough dual-use technologies like this that will allow Canada, and our allies, to meet the manufacturing demands of the 21st century.

Do we ACTUALLY need tanks when we're a kilometre wide and a centimetre deep!? Canada should maximally leverage sub-surface and airborne autonomy in support of sovereignty and continental domain awareness, while maintaining light, agile, and technologically enabled expeditionary forces in support of allied commitments.

SOF elements continue to be the test beds for the new technologies and tactics that are ultimately adopted by conventional forces. As new technologies enter the battlespace, offering new capabilities, we must not forget our legal and moral obligations to minimize harm to protected persons and objects.

This is the exact sort of infrastructure upgrade that Canada's North desperately needs. These types of investments should continue to be made across the North to assert our sovereignty and support domestic and allied supply chains, all while generating real economic opportunity for local populations, and Canada as a whole.

This threat is real on both sides of the border. Trusted, strategic capital is, more than ever, a vital element of economic statecraft. ONE9 portfolio company, @Strider, offers amazing tools for tools to counter state-sponsored and individual risk vectors.

China currently controls 54% of cobalt production and 80% of refinement. The defence industrial base runs on cobalt and other rare earth elements. Fortress North America must continue to secure its supply chain if we are to have any chance of meeting the technological demands and geopolitical challenges of the 21st century.

If you think drones are changing the game now....just wait.

Seriously though, China... chill.

"Ultimately, what will be paramount is for the DND to translate this testing and interest into concrete orders to acquire a variety of counterdrones systems. Only then will Canada be ready to protect soldiers from the imminent threat posed by drones." Translation: This is meaningless until DND operationalizes new capabilities. Facta non verba.

Let's not forget that Canada continues to offer strategic value to our allies. But also all the more reason to maintain and expand our ability to produce ships on time, and on budget - no small feat.

Do you think Liberal or Conservative voters believe we have no choice but to spend more on defence? Feelings about Canadian defence spending are...complicated... Leaders from all parties must explain not just why investing in defence is vital, but also what sacrifices we must collectively make for the defence of the realm, our alliances, and our democratic values.