Military commander vows fast action on AI and robots, sees 'untapped potential' for Canada

Lt.-Gen. Darcy Molstad, commander of Canadian Joint Forces Command, speaks at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence on March 5, 2026. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)Social SharingA top Canadian Forces commander says the military will rapidly buy more low-cost, autonomous and reusable weapons systems and equipment as it faces a rising tide of global threats.

Lt.-Gen. Darcy Molstad, commander of Canadian Joint Forces Command (CJFC), spoke at the Canadian Robotics Council 2026 Symposium on Monday, telling members of Canada's tech industry to stand by for a surge in purchase orders amid a "massive recapitalization of major platforms."

"This industry in Canada has so much untapped potential," the former fighter pilot told a room full of robotics entrepreneurs attending a panel discussion in Toronto. "Your imagination is your only limitation on the use cases for robotics paired with AI."

Molstad's remarks about embracing artificial intelligence-powered military hardware come as world leaders and prominent tech executives debate how to handle rapid advances in AI safely.

Powerful AI models have escaped human control, as was the case in July, when OpenAI agents hacked into a rival firm. Some leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, say the technology is evolving too fast.

While autonomous hardware like drones are frequently associated with front-line combat, Molstad spelled out potential across the military, including medical diagnostic support, supply depot logistics and automated military police vehicle inspections. 

"We see MPs [military police] that are inspecting vehicles with a mirror underneath the car. I'm pretty sure that's a use case for a robot with AI integrated to do that — and a lot better than humans can do it," he said. 

"Our supply depots are still locked, in some ways, in the '80s and '90s technologies. We do not necessarily need to recreate an Amazon fulfilment centre, but we need to move from the '80s to something in between that is suitable for defence needs."

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On the combat side, Molstad said CJFC has already established a list of 399 pre-qualified vendors for the Canadian military's Defence Drone Initiative. He expects more formal requests for proposals (RFPs) will follow as Canada's military leans deeper into new technologies.

"We're closer to a major global conflict than we've ever been in [the] history of our country since the major wars," he said.

"We have to modernize as fast as we possibly can to give our soldiers, sailors, aviators and special operators the tools that they need to be able to deter. Because none of us want to actually fight a war."

Charles Barlow, the CEO of Ottawa-based Robotics Centre, describes his company's drones at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland. (Katie Pedersen/CBC)Molstad was joined Monday by Duncan Stewart, a special executive advisor on innovation and industry to the Canadian Armed Forces. Stewart is also a partner at the Business Development Bank of Canada's $200-million tech venture fund, which backs early-stage startups.

"[The] government is a very fickle customer. It's a very tricky customer to deal with from an industry perspective," said Stewart. "Government tends to move very slowly. It tends to be very risk averse, and it tends to buy things in fits and starts."

Stewart added that Canada's traditional military suppliers tend to be large companies, which often lack the agility of the smaller firms he represents. "A lot of the innovation that we're seeing come from the cutting edge, especially in autonomous systems, is coming from small [companies]," he said

Molstad cited the military's Defense Drone Initiative as evidence the government is "doing things differently" now.

"We need to figure out how to get the right industries with security clearances to understand what our concepts of operations are … the threats that we are facing at a classified level, so that you can actually do the work that you need to do to come up with the innovative, novel solutions that we're not thinking about," he said.

In February, Ottawa released its new defence industrial strategy. The plan includes a goal to award 70 per cent of federal defence contracts to Canadian firms within a decade.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the policy will better equip the military, while countering U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to make the United States the arms-maker of choice to allied countries.

Molstad borrowed language from his time flying CF-18s as he told robotics and AI entrepreneurs about the Canadian military's plan to pick up the pace. 

"The ex-fighter pilot in me will say, 'stand by for G, stand by for G-forces,'" he said.

"Because when we issue an RFP — the ones that we issued just recently — we're giving five days for you to respond. We're giving you the statutory minimum to respond, because this is how fast we need to move."

Looking ahead, Molstad said the industry can expect "a steady drumbeat of RFPs for robotic and autonomous systems over the course of the next five years."

Earlier this month, Canada and Ukraine signed an expansive 100-year partnership that lays the foundation for the construction of millions of drones by manufacturers in the two countries.

Carney has said Ukraine's war with Russia marks a turning point in modern warfare, with unmanned weapons systems proving their worth in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers by reaching targets hundreds of kilometres inside of Russia.

Back in Canada, at an isolated location west of Ottawa, Molstad oversaw an exercise last month where dozens of drone manufacturers were put through their paces by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Robotic and autonomous systems are the way of the future," Molstad said Monday. "We have to do it responsibly, with the right policies and checks in play."

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior writer with CBC News based in Toronto. Originally from Erin, Ont., he studied journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University. Jeff previously worked as a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance Canada. He was also a reporter and digital producer for CTV National News, BNN Bloomberg and The Financial Post. He was also a Columbia University energy journalism fellow for 2025.