“You’re not buying from each other—you’re buying foreign products because it feels easier or better or because of some trade nonsense,” ThinkOn CEO Craig McLellan said at the CIX Summit Wednesday, adding that it is “hollowing out” Canada’s “sovereign capability.” Sentinel R&D CEO Kath Intson said the firm couldn’t initially find bankers or investors interested in defence technology. “We knew that Canada would come back once we had proven ourselves outside of Canada,” she said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Startup founders have long complained that it’s too hard to sell to corporate Canada, which prioritizes large foreign suppliers over domestic players with innovative products. Geopolitical tensions are driving both businesses and governments to pay more attention to issues of sovereignty—however they define it—and dual use or defence technology. ThinkOn is part of a four-firm consortium trying to sell sovereign AI infrastructure to the public sector. Sentinel, meanwhile, makes military drones in Ontario. Defence firms need to build “unique things” for Canada and NATO allies, Intson said. “It’s not enough to just onshore some other company’s capability and call it Canadian.”