Speaking at the Toronto Global Forum on Wednesday, Darryl White called on the federal government to provide greater certainty to smaller defence contractors as the country ramps up military spending. (The Logic)

Talking point: White said the federal government could help companies secure financing by guaranteeing demand through procurement commitments, financial backstops and public-private partnerships. He warned that many of the Canadian companies needed to meet the federal government’s goal of awarding 70 per cent of defence procurement to domestic suppliers do not yet exist at sufficient scale. “Otherwise, the math doesn’t add up,” he said at the conference. BMO announced Wednesday it was expanding its defence-sector business, appointing Michael Bonner to oversee the initiative, part of its broader $70 billion capital commitment announced before the Canada Investment Summit. White also warned consumers against sharing banking credentials with AI agents, saying safeguards governing fraud prevention and data privacy have yet to catch up with the technology.

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