Ottawa is pledging more on defence — and Calgary wants a piece of the action

While Calgary is best known as an oil and gas town, a growing aerospace and defence industry has largely flown under the radar.

Right now, the city has 158 companies operating in the aerospace and defence sector, according to Calgary Economic Development. The industry across the entire province contributed $3.1 billion in gross domestic product in 2024, the agency said.

“There's a tremendous amount of defence and aerospace activities happening that most people are not even aware of,” said Jeff LaFrenz, president of VizWorX, a tech company whose software includes a virtual reality platform that can let soldiers hold battlefield meetings while safe inside their armoured vehicles.

LaFrenz said the energy industry tends to "dominate a lot of the discourse," which can drown out developments