Barrie investing $50M to become hub for Canadian military defence

A composite image of Alex Nuttall, mayor of Barrie.

Barrie’s mayor says the city is willing to spend $50 million to attract defence industry companies to set up operations in the city.

The latest mayoral directive from Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall to city staff is to create financial incentives and update zoning by-laws that could accommodate defence companies and turn Barrie into a hub for Canada’s military defence.

“Sending a clear signal, our city is ready to accommodate the sector and increase the supply of land for production,” said Nuttall, while attending the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CANSEC) annual conference on Thursday morning.

“We are where defence needs to be,” Nuttall said at the conference in Ottawa.

With hopes of growing the local economy and creating jobs for residents, the city says its “strategically positioned” to house Canada’s growing defence, dual-use, aerospace and security industries.

Barrie is also aiming to prep the next generation of potential industry employees, as Nuttall also announced a new, $2.5 million investment in Georgian College over the next two years to “strengthen defence-focused education” and to prep students for jobs in fields like engineering, mechatronics, computer science and applied research.

This comes on the heels of an up to $20 million expansion of Lakehead University STEM hub, coming to downtown Barrie.

“That means ensuring Canada has the ability to protect our people, our land and our critical systems, with the capacity built right here at home,” Nuttall said at the CANSEC conference.

“As part of Team Ontario, Barrie is ready to support that work and we’re ready to deliver,” he added.

Nuttall was joined by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Economic Development Vic Fedeli Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa and the 2026 CANSEC conference.

In an interview with CTV news Nuttall said the city has been working for many years to make land available for production and manufacturing with hopes of attracting the defence industry.

“Now we’re able to align all of that with obviously what is a very important cause in terms of our national sovereignty and certainly supporting those who serve our country day in and day out,” Nuttall said.

“We’re already showcasing Barrie to many defence companies,” he said, adding, “There’s a ton of work being done to ensure that the relationship with Base Bordon is showcased in a very positive way,” he added.

With jobs being “hard to come by” Nuttall says the economic boost is especially valuable for Barrie residents.

“We’ve now got the province of Ontario and the federal government investing heavily in this type manufacturing and production and the city Barrie, I think, is very well positioned to be a recipient of that,” Nuttall said.