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About the Authors
Matthew da Mota, Senior Policy Researcher, The Canadian Shield Institute for Public Policy

Matt is an interdisciplinary thinker and researcher with a background that spans industries and social milieus—from construction to academia to policy. He harnesses his diverse experience to bring both practical policy expertise and deep research skills to his work. He explores complex questions about the intersections of information, institutions, and power, particularly how emerging technologies and changing geopolitical dynamics impact the future of governance, knowledge, and sovereignty across contexts. Matt previously worked at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), focusing on international governance of AI. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship between CIGI’s Digital Policy Hub and UofT’s Media Ethics Lab on AI’s transformation of research and knowledge production. During his Ph.D. Matt studied how historical narratives shape, and are in turn shaped by, political power over time, and the relationship between written evidence and knowledge. He continues to work on multiple standardization technical committees and is an investigator on international research projects on trust, governance, and epistemology.

Laurent Carbonneau, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

Laurent Carbonneau is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at CCI. He previously worked in federal politics in legislative, policy and issues management roles for a senior MP and in the NDP leader’s office as well as on a national central campaign before working in government relations in the post-secondary education sector. He has master’s degrees from Carleton University (political management) and the University of St Andrews (history) and a BA from Mount Allison University. He lives in Ottawa.

Building a Canadian Dual-Use Industrial Commons

Matthew da Mota, Laurent Carbonneau

April 23, 2026

Canada faces a geopolitical moment unlike any in recent memory. The erosion of the rules-based international order, deepening great power competition, and the aggressive behaviour of the Trump administration have fundamentally altered Canada’s national security and defence planning.

But increased defence spending alone will not deliver lasting national value. Canada faces three compounding structural failures: insufficient industrial and manufacturing capacity to convert defence investment into sovereign capability at scale; a chronic failure to retain the intellectual property and intangible assets generated by publicly funded research; and a lack of analytical and coordination capacity within the federal government to align defence and industrial goals.

What is needed is a Canadian dual-use industrial commons—an integrated ecosystem that builds manufacturing capacity, retains the downstream value of defence investment in Canada, and ensures that governance over critical systems remains in Canadian hands.

About the Authors
Matthew da Mota, Senior Policy Researcher, The Canadian Shield Institute for Public Policy

Matt is an interdisciplinary thinker and researcher with a background that spans industries and social milieus—from construction to academia to policy. He harnesses his diverse experience to bring both practical policy expertise and deep research skills to his work. He explores complex questions about the intersections of information, institutions, and power, particularly how emerging technologies and changing geopolitical dynamics impact the future of governance, knowledge, and sovereignty across contexts. Matt previously worked at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), focusing on international governance of AI. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship between CIGI’s Digital Policy Hub and UofT’s Media Ethics Lab on AI’s transformation of research and knowledge production. During his Ph.D. Matt studied how historical narratives shape, and are in turn shaped by, political power over time, and the relationship between written evidence and knowledge. He continues to work on multiple standardization technical committees and is an investigator on international research projects on trust, governance, and epistemology.

Laurent Carbonneau, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

Laurent Carbonneau is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at CCI. He previously worked in federal politics in legislative, policy and issues management roles for a senior MP and in the NDP leader’s office as well as on a national central campaign before working in government relations in the post-secondary education sector. He has master’s degrees from Carleton University (political management) and the University of St Andrews (history) and a BA from Mount Allison University. He lives in Ottawa.

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