Federal government announces details of plan to rearm Canada's military – March 19, 2026

At a news conference in Kitchener, Ont., David McGuinty, the minister of national defence, and Stephen Fuhr, the secretary of state for defence procurement, announce that Colt Canada has been awarded the contract to provide the military with more than 65,000 assault rifle systems under the Canadian Modular Assault Rifle initiative. McGuinty faces questions from reporters on the Iranian attack on the Canadian armed forces camp at the Ali Al-salem Air Base in Kuwait, which was reportedly hit by a missile on March 1. He is also asked about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s appearance on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast.