Kluskap Defence invests in and delivers defence and security infrastructure, services and partnerships from Halifax, Atlantic Canada's defence hub. We are the defence arm of Glooscap Ventures, the economic development corporation of Glooscap First Nation, whose companies have completed hundreds of millions of dollars in investments. With partner Nations on the Pacific and the Prairies, we hold a strategic agreement with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in support of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.
Canada is re-investing in defence at a scale not seen in a generation, and much of it lands in Atlantic Canada: the Atlantic fleet, CFB Halifax, the shipyards, army and air force bases, and a growing security and technology sector. Indigenous participation at that scale needs partners with real governance, real balance sheets and real operating businesses behind them.
Kluskap Defence works out of Halifax, where Canada's Atlantic fleet, its largest naval base, its major shipyards and much of the region's defence industry are concentrated. Our home is Glooscap First Nation in Mi'kma'ki, an hour away, where Glooscap Ventures is headquartered and where our companies are rooted. Glooscap Ventures brings a track record of hundreds of millions of dollars in completed investments, a growing portfolio of renewable energy projects, and operating companies in construction, security and industrial services. We are a green investor by conviction, and we bring that to the defence sector. We work alongside partner Nations so that Atlantic Indigenous capability is represented in national programs.
Our partnerships and TKMS About usKluskap Defence partners with Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses alike: primes and OEMs looking for a credible Indigenous partner with real operating capacity, Atlantic companies that want to bring Indigenous participation into their bids, and Nations and Indigenous firms that want a path into defence programs without building a structure from scratch. We bring a signed OEM framework, a governance model, a procurement team and a parent with hundreds of millions in completed investments. Talk to us before you build your own.
How we partnerKluskap Defence is the Atlantic partner in a coalition of First Nation investment arms working together across Canada, and in that coalition's strategic agreement with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Team 212CD. Each partner leads in its own region.
In February 2026 in Kiel, Germany, Glooscap Ventures, Songhees Development Corporation and Des Nedhe Group, the investment arms of Glooscap First Nation, Songhees Nation and English River First Nation, signed a Letter of Intent with TKMS as part of Team 212CD. The partners work together across Canada, and the agreement sets out how they and TKMS will collaborate on Indigenous participation in the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, should TKMS be selected by the Government of Canada. TKMS lists its Indigenous partners at team212cd.ca.
The federal Request for Proposal requires a minimum five per cent Indigenous procurement target. The partnership's shared ambition is to meaningfully exceed that target over the life of the project.
The partnership is built for the long term. Its aim is meaningful Indigenous participation over the life of the program and the growth of Canadian capability to support the fleet at home. Further detail will be shared as the program advances.
For TKMS, the coalition offers a single, credible structure for Indigenous participation that meets Canada's procurement expectations. For our Nations, it offers a seat at the table on one of the largest industrial programs in Canadian history.
Kluskap Defence works with Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners across the defence and security sector: primes and OEMs, Atlantic contractors and service firms, Nations and Indigenous businesses, and training institutions. One framework, already backed by an OEM agreement, a governance model and a procurement team.
Primes and OEMs seeking an Indigenous partner with real operating capacity. Atlantic contractors and service companies that want Indigenous participation in their bids, through joint ventures, teaming or subcontracting. First Nations and Indigenous businesses across Atlantic Canada in construction, trades, security, marine and logistics, industrial services, engineering and professional services. Training providers and post-secondary partners for workforce pathways. Nations elsewhere in Canada are connected with the coalition partner for their region.
Partnership and supplier inquiries go to the Kluskap Defence team in Halifax.
Kluskap Defence is the defence arm of Glooscap Ventures, the business group of Glooscap First Nation, a Mi'kmaw community in Nova Scotia an hour from Halifax. It operates through Kluskap Suliewei, the Glooscap Ventures company that holds the group's service businesses.
Kluskap is the Mi'kmaw name for the cultural hero and teacher of the Mi'kmaq, used in our name and mark with the guidance of our community. We exist to build long-term, generational economic participation for Glooscap First Nation and Atlantic Indigenous partners across Canada's defence and security sector. The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project is our largest current program, not our only one.
Kluskap Defence draws on the Glooscap Ventures family of Nation-owned businesses, built over many years across fisheries, energy, gaming and hospitality, real estate, construction, security and professional services, with hundreds of millions of dollars in completed investments. Glooscap Ventures also builds relationships with other Nations in the region and invests in workforce development, so that when opportunity arrives, Atlantic Indigenous people and businesses are ready for it.
Glooscap Ventures, Songhees Development Corporation and Des Nedhe Group sign a Letter of Intent with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems at Germany's largest shipyard.
New name, mark and website.
Kluskap Defence opens its operations base in Halifax, Atlantic Canada's defence hub.
Construction joint venture with Lindsay Construction (February) and Kluskap Security Services (May) added to the defence group.
Buildings and facilities built, renovated and demolished at 14 Wing Greenwood.
Glooscap Ventures announces its defence arm in Halifax with a mandate to invest in Canadian shipbuilding and the defence sector.
Glooscap Ventures forms the entity that operates today as Kluskap Defence.
Kluskap Defence invests in and delivers across the defence and security sector, not a single program, through Nation-owned operating companies, joint ventures and coalition partners.
New construction, renovation and demolition for bases, shipyards and facilities. Kluskap Defence has built, renovated and demolished buildings and facilities at CFB Greenwood, and delivers construction today through Kluskap Lindsay Construction Partnership.
Uniformed security, access control and site protection through Kluskap Security, for defence, critical infrastructure and commercial sites across Atlantic Canada.
Health and safety programs, training and site compliance through Kluskap Health & Safety Consulting, for contractors and operators working on defence sites.
Design of Indigenous participation plans, partner identification across the coalition, and structures that qualify under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business and Industrial and Technological Benefits policies.
Pathways for Indigenous youth and workers into engineering, trades and leadership roles, with partner Nations and post-secondary institutions.
Equity participation in defence and shipbuilding ventures, backed by a group with hundreds of millions of dollars in completed investments.
A single Indigenous counterparty backed by Glooscap Ventures and a pan-Canadian coalition. Governance you can diligence. Operating companies that already carry payroll. A procurement team that understands the PSIB and ITB frameworks and can structure participation that qualifies.
We hold our suppliers to a Supplier Code of Conduct covering ethical business practices, health and safety, environmental responsibility and respect for human rights, including a strict prohibition on child labour and forced labour anywhere in our supply chain. Suppliers are expected to meet it as a condition of working with us.
Request our capability statement, Supplier Code of Conduct and Indigenous business documentation at Contact.
Michael leads Glooscap Ventures and its portfolio of Nation-owned businesses across defence, energy, hospitality, real estate, construction and services. He holds an MBA, the SETP designation and the ICD.D director designation.
Mike leads Kluskap Suliewei, the Glooscap Ventures company behind Kluskap Defence, Kluskap Security and the group's other service businesses, and is responsible for delivery on Kluskap Defence's commitments.
Glooscap Ventures, Songhees Development Corporation and Des Nedhe Group, the investment arms of Glooscap First Nation, Songhees Nation and English River First Nation, sign a Letter of Intent with TKMS in Kiel, Germany.
Read the releaseA full-service security company serving commercial, industrial and public sector clients, launched under the Glooscap defence umbrella with intelligence, loss prevention and guard services. Read the release
Kluskap Lindsay is formed to pursue and deliver large scale commercial, defence, infrastructure and institutional projects across Atlantic Canada and beyond. Read the release
Kluskap Defence will attend Atlantic Canada's aerospace, defence and security exhibition. Meet the team on the floor or book a meeting through Contact.
Kluskap Defence attended Canada's largest defence and security trade show and met with many potential partners across the defence and security sector.
Media contact: Rachel Strong, Texture Communications, rachel@yourtexture.com, 416-735-9255. Logo files and executive photos available on request.
For partnership, procurement and media inquiries, email us.
902-684-3351
Halifax operations
310-1718 Argyle Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3N6
Head office
Glooscap First Nation
410 Ben Jackson Road
Lockhartville, Nova Scotia B0P 1P0
Glooscap First Nation is located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq.