VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada is significantly expanding its armored fleet with a new contract to acquire 190 combat support vehicles over the next four years.
The contract, worth almost $2 billion CAN (US$1.4 billion), was awarded to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, based in London, Ontario. Canada will also pay for GDLS-Canada to build another 35 armored combat support vehicles for Ukraine, said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced the deal on July 16.
Canada had previously donated 89 such vehicles to Ukraine.
The new purchase will see the Canadian Army’s wheeled light armored combat support vehicle fleet increase from 360 vehicles to 550 vehicles.
GDLS-Canada was originally awarded the contract for the first 360 armored combat support vehicles in August 2019. Those vehicles have already been delivered.
ACSVs have eight variants – ambulance, command post, troop/cargo, electronic warfare, maintenance and recovery, mobile repair team, fitter/cargo, and engineer. They are all based on the GDLS-Canada’s Light Armored Vehicle 6.0 platform, which helps the army reduce training and sustainment costs. ACSVs are currently deployed with the Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia.
Carney also announced that GDLS-Canada has been designated as the first strategic partner under his government’s newly established Defence Industrial Strategy’s framework. That framework puts emphasis on buying defense equipment from Canadian-based firms.
“Through this framework, we’re creating a pathway for Canadian companies like GDLS-Canada to work more closely with our government to build those sovereign capabilities: the armored vehicles, the drones, the icebreakers, the equipment that our armed forces need,” Carney said in a televised news conference from the GDLS-C plant.
The framework requires companies to commit to investing in Canadian research and development, hiring domestic workers and expanding their domestic supply chains. “In return, the federal government will act as an anchor customer — accelerating approvals and opening doors to new export markets,” Carney said. “The commitment is simple: when Canadian companies build for Canada, Canada will build with them.”
Carney said the construction of armored vehicles at GDLS-Canada involves more than 600 Canadian suppliers.
Carney launched the defense industrial strategy framework in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision in 2025 to hit Canada with significant tariffs as well as other threats of economic punishment. Trump has warned that the only way Canada could escape such economic measures would be to become a 51st state.
As a result, Carney noted that Canada needed to reduce its alliance on the U.S., particularly in regard to U.S.-built military equipment. “We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America,” Carney said June 9, 2025.
He left the door open to working with U.S.-owned firms, such as GDLS-Canada, as long as they made an economic commitment to Canada.
GDLS-Canada vice president and general manager Dave Haggerty welcomed the strategic agreement between the firm and the Canadian government. “Our team takes great pride in the opportunity to provide Canadian soldiers with the advanced combat vehicle platforms and support they need to succeed, while continuing to strengthen Canada’s sovereign capabilities, its defense industrial base, and skilled workforce,” Haggerty said in a statement.
David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.