Partnerships
Canada and EU Announce Alliance for the Future, Backing Galvion Helmets and De Havilland Waterbombers
By News Desk ·
Key takeaways
- Galvion won a contract worth more than $44 million to supply military helmets to Latvia, Canada's second SAFE contract.
- De Havilland will receive up to $2.5 billion in financing to expand waterbomber production capacity.
- Canada and the EU concluded negotiations on a Digital Trade Agreement and signed a treaty framework with the European Investment Bank on critical minerals.
Canada and the European Union announced an Alliance for the Future on October 30, 2026, including a contract worth more than $44 million for Galvion to supply military helmets to Latvia and up to $2.5 billion in financing for De Havilland to expand waterbomber production. The Financial Post published the announcement.
Galvion Helmets and De Havilland Financing
The Galvion contract is Canada's second under SAFE, following the first awarded to Montréal-based Marconi to build radios for Poland's Cyber Command. Latvia hosts Canada's largest military presence abroad. The De Havilland financing covers Alberta-based production and is intended to help European partners and Canada fight wildfires while supporting jobs in Wheatland County, Alberta.
Canada and the European Union will also advance cooperation on IRIS², a satellite network providing secure connectivity for governments, defence and emergency services during crises. Canada will partner with the EU's Galileo program and the European Space Agency to strengthen positioning and navigation data across Canada and the Arctic. Canada signed a treaty framework with the European Investment Bank allowing it to invest in Canadian critical minerals projects, and the two sides are launching work toward a raw materials stockpiling and investment framework.
"We have concluded negotiations on the Canada-EU Digital Trade Agreement, Canada's first agreement dedicated entirely to digital trade," said Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade. He said Canadian businesses exported nearly $15 billion in digitally deliverable services to the EU in 2024.
Earlier Steps Toward the Montreal Summit
Canada's path to the announcement included joining the EU's supercomputing network to access European computing resources for AI development, as Slashdot reported on October 29, 2026. POLITICO reported on September 30, 2026, that the EU and Canada would announce a new partnership pact at a summit in Montreal starting October 29, covering digital trade, Ukraine support and wildfire fighting. Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted the Canada-EU Summit in Montréal on October 29-30, 2026, with EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, according to Newswire.
Defence Partnerships Elsewhere
India's IG Defence and Oman's MSA Global signed an MoU to co-develop and localise defence systems for the Gulf region, Business Standard reported on October 29, 2026. LIG D&A met Croatia's defense minister Ante Šušnjar at its R&D center on October 28 to discuss defense cooperation, Naver reported.
Digital Trade and Data Cable Studies
Over the coming months, Canada and the EU will study how best to connect Canada and Europe through secure digital infrastructure, taking first steps toward a new transatlantic data cable, and will examine market conditions and infrastructure requirements to assess the viability of increased LNG exports.