A newly formed Inuit-owned defense enterprise, Sapujjijiit Inc., is merging Arctic field expertise with advanced military technology to bolster Canada’s northern defense posture. Based in Nunavut and translating to “defender” in Inuktitut, the company has partnered with Ottawa-based venture group ONE9 to bring manufacturing, research, and systems integration for drones, robotics, and cold-weather sensors directly to the Arctic. The firm’s creation represents a milestone in Canada’s evolving northern defense ecosystem — shifting Indigenous participation from service contracting to full-fledged defense production. Sapujjijiit’s early collaborations include infrastructure and logistics partnerships with southern defense primes, enabling Arctic testing of equipment and supporting deployment readiness. This initiative aligns with Canada’s renewed strategic focus on Arctic sovereignty, highlighted in the 2024 Arctic Foreign Policy, which calls for urgent expansion of defense presence and surveillance capacity in the North. Sapujjijiit builds upon precedents such as Inuit-managed maintenance of the North Warning System, showing how local knowledge and sovereignty imperatives can converge in national defense planning. Beyond operations, the venture reinforces Indigenous economic empowerment and community engagement through defense innovation. Canada’s Arctic defense modernization also includes investment in NORAD upgrades, new long-range radar systems, satellite networks, and ice-capable naval assets — programs where Sapujjijiit’s localized capabilities could provide significant logistical and environmental advantages. Analysts view the company as emblematic of a broader transformation — embedding Indigenous knowledge within Canada’s high-tech defense industry and ensuring the Arctic is not just a frontier of security, but one of opportunity.
