What Are Dual-Use Technologies—and Why They Matter for Canada

Part 1 of 5 in our series on Canada, defence, and the dual-use technology revolution

Setting the Background for this Series
Technology doesn’t respect the dividing lines between “civilian” and “military.” The same tools that power business, medicine, and entertainment are increasingly reshaping defence and security. These are dual-use technologies—AI, drones, quantum computing, space systems, advanced manufacturing—that can both grow economies and deter foreign threats.

In 2025, Canada faces a dual challenge:

• Our allies want us to do more. NATO has renewed its call for members to meet or exceed 2% of GDP in defence spending.
• Our economy is lagging. Canada’s productivity, measured in GDP per hour worked, trails the US and many European peers.

Encouraging dual-use technological innovation at scale in Canada is a way to address both challenges at once. To explore this option and its relevance to Canada in detail, we are embarking on this five-part series that we’ve planned around the following themes:

1. What Are Dual-Use Technologies, and Why They Matter for Canada (this initial post)
2. Lessons from Allies – How the US, Israel, and Europe fund and govern dual-use innovation
3. Mitigating the Risks of Dual-Use – Risks and vulnerabilities when civilian tech enters the battlefield
4. Building the Ecosystem – The roles of universities, VC, government, and industry in scaling dual-use
5. A 10-Year Roadmap for Canada – A sequenced plan to become a world-class player

A Short History of Dual-Use
The military–civilian tech cycle isn’t new.

• WWII & Cold War: Defence programs birthed radar, jet engines, nuclear power, and the internet. Military satellites became the GPS we all use today.
• Space Race: Rocketry and space programs seeded commercial satellites and global communications.
• 1990s Onward: Civilian innovation accelerated. Militaries began adopting “off-the-shelf” tech—from commercial computers to software.

The lesson: innovation flows both ways.

• Spin-out: Military-originated technologies commercialized for society (internet, GPS, microwave ovens).
• Spin-in: Civilian-originated innovations adapted for defence (drones, Starlink, AI platforms).

When both flows reinforce each other, the result is faster adoption, lower costs, and stronger economies.

Why Now?
There’s an old proverb that goes: the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, while the second best time is now.

For Canada, the “tree” represents the ideal of a deliberate, carefully planned dual-use strategy. If we had planted it a decade ago, we’d conceivably already have Arctic surveillance powered by homegrown AI, thriving drone companies exporting globally, and stronger NATO credibility. (For more background on the dual use technology ecosystem in Canada, click here.)

But geopolitical realities mean the second-best time—the time to act—is now:

• Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown how commercial technologies (Starlink, DJI drones) can change the battlefield.
• China’s rise demonstrates how a state-led fusion of civilian and military tech accelerates both economic and defence power.
• NATO’s 2% push creates external pressure for Canada to invest more in defence, but the smart path is to do so in ways that also boost domestic productivity.
• Canada’s productivity gap—we trail the US and the EU average in GDP/hour—means we must harness technologies that automate, digitize, and scale output.

Why Canada Should Care
Three drivers make dual-use central to Canada’s future:

1. Security: Cyber threats, Arctic sovereignty, and great-power competition demand more modern, tech-enabled defences.
2. Economy: Investing in dual-use AI, autonomy, and advanced manufacturing boosts both military capability and civilian productivity—closing Canada’s GDP/hour gap.
3. Alliances: Allies are moving fast. The US has DARPA and DIU; Israel has Unit 8200 and MAFAT; Europe has DIANA and the NATO Innovation Fund. Without action, Canada risks falling behind in both capability and credibility.

Canada’s Structural Challenge: Capital
Unlike the US, Israel, or Europe, Canada’s venture capital ecosystem is sub-scale. Average fund sizes are smaller, rounds are shallower, and risk appetite for defence is lower. Where US startups can raise $100M+ to build dual-use hardware, Canadian firms often stall or are acquired early.

This means government must play a catalytic role:
• Acting as an early customer to de-risk markets
• Creating co-investment vehicles to crowd-in private capital
• Linking universities, Canadian armed forces units, and industry into dual-use ecosystems

Without this, Canada’s best talent and ideas will continue to flow south—or east—to scale.

The “Two-for-One” Opportunity
Canada spends about 1.3% of GDP on defence, below NATO’s 2% target. Allocating even 1% of GDP annually (less than the 1.5% new NATO target) to dual-use innovation could:

- Strengthen our defence posture in the Arctic and cyberspace
- Generate new industries, jobs, and exports
- Raise national productivity by accelerating adoption of automation and digital tools

Done right, dual-use isn’t just a defence strategy. It’s an economic growth and innovation promotion strategy.

What’s Next
In Part 2, we’ll compare Canada’s current position with allies: the US’s massive R&D engine, Israel’s startup-defence pipeline, and Europe’s collective innovation funds. These models all incorporate concepts that Canada can adapt and blend to suit our circumstances.

We’ll also look at why, in an increasingly tense world, waiting is no longer an option for Canada.

Mark Maybank is a Co-founder and Managing Partner with Maverix Private Equity in Toronto, where he leads the collective team and firm operations. As an active investor, director, advisor and entrepreneur, he has a wealth of experience spanning across multiple industries and geographies.