Ottawa asks defence industry for options on replacements for aging tank fleet

OTTAWA — The Canadian military is formally asking the defence industry to identify what companies can offer to either upgrade or replace Canada’s aging fleet of tanks.

The federal government published a request for information from potential suppliers so Ottawa can analyze options available on the market and start to draw up plans for future armoured land vehicle fleets.

Companies have two months to submit information. The posting comes just weeks before a major annual defence sector exhibition in the nation’s capital called Cansec.

A Canadian Army document published last year called “Inflection Point,” which laid out a future vision for the army, warned that decades of dispatching the military on counter-insurgency and peace operations created serious gaps in its store of heavy arms.

The army’s armoured regiment has been left with a single squadron of decades-old Leopard tanks, Inflection Point notes.

That document briefly touches on the tank procurement, describing it broadly as “next-generation heavy direct-fire capability, encompassing tank replacement with integrated assault breaching, bridging, and recovery vehicles.”

Modern warfare — as demonstrated by Russia’s war against Ukraine — has seen rapid recent advances in anti-tank drones and tank armour.

A second part of the procurement project covers “medium cavalry vehicles” for a common light-armoured vehicle fleet. That would include the Coyote recon vehicles, TAPV wheeled combat vehicles and the LAV 6.

Shephard Group, a U.K.-based defence outlet, reported in January that Canada is in the market for more than 250 armoured fighting vehicles.

Various media reports cited Canadian military officials indicating as much in a presentation at the Defense IQ International Armored Vehicles conference in England.

Future versions of such vehicles are expected to have the capability of operating with or without a human crew.

The Defence Investment Agency confirmed the project remains under Public Services and Procurement Canada.

PSPC and National Defence did not provide responses to queries about the file by deadline.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press