A Canadian submarine engineering firm based in Port Coquitlam, B.C., has recently been acquired by Israel‘s largest weapons company that manufactures ground vehicles, equipment, and drones for use in the genocide of Palestinians. Before it was bought by Elbit Systems, the company received nearly 1 millions $ in public funding.
On October 20th, Elbit Systems bought Canadian company International Submarine Engineering Ltd. Elbit technology is marketed as being “battle tested” on Palestinians, including at Canadian arms conventions like the annual CANSEC trade show. The sale adds to existing ties that allow Canada’s financial institutions, pension funds and military industries to profit off Israeli war crimes, enabled by Canada’s government.
Publicly available records show that the Canadian submarine technology company had previously received $955,236.55 in public funding from the federal government as part of the Department of National Defence’s defence innovation program, IDEaS B1. In 2021, ISE announced that this funding was allocated for a joint program with Dalhousie University to develop “autonomous, persistent maritime surveillance.”
The company’s relationship with Israel extends back to 2018 at least, when they announced a $85,000,000 contract with the Israeli Navy to supply it with electronic warfare systems.
Zionist lobby organization CIJA (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) supports Elbit’s acquisition of ISE, remarking that the deal is “another example of how Canadians and Israelis are working together, supported by our 30-year-old Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), to create jobs, drive innovation and strengthen the security of both our countries.”
Local organizations like the Canada Palestine Association (CPA) Vancouver have condemned the sale. The CPA reaffirmed their longstanding call for Canada to enact an arms embargo on Israel and discontinue the Canada Israel Free Trade Agreement, which has been in place since 2014.
People fights against Elbit Systems
Established in the 1970s, the CPA Vancouver coordinated local demonstrations against Scotiabank from 2023-2025 as part of a nation-wide movement they launched to force the “Big 6” Bank to end its role as Elbit’s largest foreign investor. Their campaigning alongside organizations like the Canadian BDS Coalition, No Arms in the Arts, and Arms Embargo Now, led to Scotiabank fully divesting from Elbit Systems.
Arms Embargo Now is serving as the hub for a national “Elbit Out of Canada” campaign. The campaign webpage hosts a list of Elbit Systems subsidiaries and part suppliers across Canada as well as a toolkit locals can use against local targets.
Urging Canadians to “Adopt a Local Elbit Supplier”, the page says the following: “Your task will be to make your target supplier’s connection to Elbit (and, through Elbit, to Israel’s genocide) so undeniable, so inconvenient, so politically toxic, that they are forced to stop sending parts to Elbit”
The campaign also includes a demand for the Canadian government to sanction Elbit Systems with a form Canadians can fill out to send an email to their MP and key cabinet Ministers.
The Liberal government has thus far limited itself to rhetorically condemning the war crimes perpetrated against Palestinians while maintaining its policies that support Israel and the corrupt Palestinian Authority serving as their collaborators in the West Bank.
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