Project Borealis:
A Policy Framework for Canadian Sovereignty, Security, and Technological Leadership
Infinitum Venturis Inc. | June 2025
Executive Summary
Project Borealis is a bold, Canadian-led initiative to develop a fully integrated defence technology ecosystem centered around AI-enabled drone platforms, advanced naval assets, and Arctic-capable mobility systems. Rooted in the vision of a sovereign, self-reliant Canada, Project Borealis proposes a transformative national strategy that leverages domestic industrial capacity, stimulates innovation across critical sectors, and redefines Canada’s role on the global defence stage.
More than a procurement alternative, Project Borealis is a generational strategy aligned with Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy and the legacy of former Defence Minister Peter MacKay. It aims to close capability gaps in Arctic readiness, defence innovation, and economic sovereignty, while creating between 40,000 and 120,000 Canadian jobs over the next two decades, driving long-term industrial resilience and security autonomy.
Strategic Context
Canada faces accelerating strategic challenges. Peer adversaries invest heavily in autonomous weapons, electronic warfare, and space-based surveillance. The Arctic, once remote, is now a contested geopolitical space requiring persistent sovereignty and operational readiness.
Despite possessing the technological and human capital, Canada remains dependent on foreign procurement, creating vulnerabilities in timelines, technology access, and strategic independence. Project Borealis confronts this by developing a sovereign, AI-driven integrated system of autonomous land, air, and sea platforms, shifting Canada from consumer to innovator.
Alignment with Federal Priorities
Project Borealis builds on the pillars of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, expanding beyond naval assets to include interoperable drones, AI command frameworks, and smart vehicles. It supports NORAD modernization, Arctic surveillance, and advanced manufacturing job creation, aligning with programs such as the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), IDEaS, and Canadian Infrastructure Bank initiatives.
This initiative complements Canada’s commitments to NATO and CANZUK allies by enhancing operational readiness and reducing strategic dependencies.
Project Borealis Overview
The initiative develops a modular defence ecosystem anchored by the Borealis Core AI—a sovereign, adaptive operational brain managing autonomous navigation, electronic warfare, swarm coordination, and data fusion across all platforms.
Key platforms include:
THORUN: An Arctic-optimized stealth armoured reconnaissance vehicle deploying micro-drone swarms and conducting autonomous electronic operations.
MYTHOS Drone Series: Versatile aerial platforms for reconnaissance, EW, and perimeter defence.
Revenant-Class UCAVs: Stealth tailless drones capable of independent or wingman roles with internal weapons bays.
Kraken-Class Drone Carrier (HMCS Augustus): A flagship drone operations and command vessel designed for peer-level maritime conflict.
Vanguard-Class Stealth Destroyer: AI-enabled escort warship with multi-domain drone coordination and advanced air/subsurface warfare capabilities.
Sentinel Borealis: Arctic cyber-electronic warfare ground vehicle coordinating micro-drone swarms.
All systems are designed for seamless joint force interoperability, giving Canada rapid precision strike, surveillance, and defence superiority.
Domestic Economic Impact
Project Borealis is a transformative economic driver. It will create 40,000 to 120,000 jobs over 20 years across advanced manufacturing, AI, cybersecurity, naval engineering, drone production, and logistics. The project activates Canadian talent from coast to coast, strengthening underutilized facilities, shipyards, and research institutions.
Unlike traditional foreign procurement that exports Canadian taxpayer dollars abroad, Borealis ensures capital recirculates within the national economy, integrating Canadian suppliers from aerospace to software development. It also fosters academic partnerships for innovations in propulsion, adaptive camouflage, autonomous navigation, and power storage.
This initiative is as much a national industrial strategy as a defence program, ensuring Canada designs, builds, and exports sovereign, world-class military systems.
Technology Leadership for Canada
At its core is the Borealis Core AI—a sovereign artificial intelligence platform managing multi-domain autonomous systems in contested, GPS-denied environments. This advanced AI offers Canada rare status among countries capable of indigenous combat autonomy, with spillover benefits in emergency response, environmental monitoring, and smart logistics.
Complementing this AI is a modular design ethos enabling rapid adaptation of payloads—EW suites, surveillance, loitering munitions, or anti-air systems—to evolving threats. A critical pillar is the Borealis MicroCore Initiative, developing domestic microelectronics and defence-grade semiconductors, ensuring full control over supply chains critical to military independence.
The Case Against Foreign Dependence
Canada’s continued reliance on foreign military procurement undermines security, sovereignty, and industrial vitality. Delays, limited customization for Canadian operational needs, opaque software architectures, and economic leakage pose unacceptable risks.
Project Borealis decisively reverses this trend, enabling Canada to own, control, and evolve its defence systems through domestic talent and institutions, ensuring strategic autonomy and resilience.
Policy Recommendations
To fully realize Project Borealis, decisive government action is required:
Targeted Funding: Expand Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) allocations for Borealis platform development across phases—concept, prototyping, trials.
Program Adaptation: Broaden IDEaS program scope to support integrated, multi-platform defence ecosystems beyond small-scale tech.
Cross-Ministerial Task Force: Establish a coordinating body led by DND, ISED, and PSPC to streamline implementation and unify industrial/academic partnerships.
Direct CAF Involvement: Facilitate Canadian Armed Forces participation in prototyping and testing to ensure operational relevance and accelerate readiness.
Domestic Procurement Framework: Prioritize Canadian innovation via performance-based contracting, content incentives, and intellectual property protections to retain economic value.
Conclusion
Canada stands at a strategic crossroads. Project Borealis embodies a vision of sovereignty, innovation, and security, anchored in Canadian ingenuity and determination. It promises not just territorial defence, but a revitalized industrial base, new economic opportunities, and a leadership role in next-generation defence technology.
The time to act is now. With sustained investment and leadership, Project Borealis will redefine Canadian defence for the 21st century and beyond.
Authored in-house by the Project Borealis Policy Team, Infinitum Venturis Inc.