Canada to invest $1.4B in armored vehicles in partnership with GDLS-Canada

WASHINGTON — Canada will invest nearly 2 billion Canadian dollars, or 1.4 billion USD, to build 190 new Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) under a partnership between the Canadian Armed Forces and General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced today. 

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada’s government is ensuring the women and men of our Armed Forces get what they need, when they need it,” Carney said following his public announcement of the deal today, according to a release from the Canadian government.

According to the release, the partnership will grow Canada’s fleet of ACSVs from 360 to 550. The ACSVs are based on GDLS-Canada’s light armoured vehicle (LAV) 6.0 and will replace the current LAV II Bison and M113 tracked LAV fleets, the Canadian government’s website reads. There are several use cases for the new ACSV which include: troop/cargo transportation, ambulance services, maintenance and recovery, command post and more. 

The additional 190 ACSVs announced today will be used in training rotations at Canadian Armed Forces bases across the country, according to today’s release. 

Further, the partnership will bolster jobs across the country, Carney said in a social media post today. 

“These will be feats of engineering — more than 6000 workers from more than 600 Canadian suppliers across the country will help design, build, and sustain them for years to come,” he wrote in the post.

This is the first official partnership under the Defense Industrial Strategy’s Strategic Partnership Framework — a newly established initiative that “sets a long term vision for strengthening the defence industrial base,” the government’s website reads. 

“Strategic partnerships with Canadian industry are fundamental to ensuring the Canadian Armed Forces have the capabilities they need to defend Canada today and into the future,” David McGuinty, Canada’s minister of defense, said in the announcement today. “By working with trusted Canadian partners, we are strengthening our defence industrial base, supporting highly skilled jobs, and advancing innovation that enhances Canada’s security and sovereignty.” 

According to the government’s announcement, there are currently an undisclosed number of ACSVs deployed with the Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia. Additionally, Canada has donated 89 ACSVs to Ukraine, “with an additional 35 committed at the 2026 NATO Summit, as part of more than $8.5 billion in Canadian military assistance to Ukraine,” the release read. 

Today’s partnership agreement comes as Canada has attempted to strengthen its military over the last several months, and has “for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” met NATO’s 2 percent defense spending criterion, per the announcement. 

“This new strategic partnership with GDLS-Canada creates a long-term framework for Canada’s Armoured Combat Vehicle-Wheeled program, supporting the delivery, sustainment, modernisation, and future evolution of the fleet,” today’s announcement read. “By creating a more collaborative approach between government and industry, it will streamline procurement, reduce risk, accelerate delivery, and ensure Canada can respond more quickly to evolving operational requirements.”