Spencer Fraser, who owns a company building drones in the Medicine Hat area, says raising awareness of the regional capability is key. (Photo: CHAT News Today)

By Kevin Kyle, Eli J. Ridder

Southeast Alberta’s aerospace industry poised for growth, experts say

Mar 28, 2025 | 10:43 AM

The window of opportunity for southeast Alberta’s aerospace industry is wide open for a growth spurt amid the U.S. trade war and calls for increased military spending, industry experts and advocates say.

Spencer Fraser, founder and CEO of local drone company Landing Zones Canada, said the potential is there but the main challenge is a lack of recognition for the region’s capabilities.

“It’s kind of a quiet secret these companies have been here 20, 30 years, exporting all around the world,” Fraser said.

With more of a larger focus, Fraser believes that the industry could be a new driving force in the Alberta economy.

Fraser’s company builds specialized drones for the Canadian government for both military and civil purposes.

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It is located in Medicine Hat because of CFB Suffield and the lineage of the research and development that’s been done there, Fraser said.

As part of his company’s advocacy efforts, it displays a graphic depicting Medicine Hat as “the drone city” on a billboard facing the Trans-Canada Highway in the city’s south end, a play on Medicine Hat’s formal “the gas city” slogan.

The two front-runners in the ongoing federal election say they will increase spending on Canada’s military.

Liberal leader Mark Carney this week promised an “unprecedented acceleration of investment” in Canada’s armed forces if his party wins the April 28 election.

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have also vowed to make significant investments in the military, specifically in Arctic defense.

Fraser said the drone industry in Medicine Hat stands ready to help.

“What the industry in Medicine Hat is very good at is testing products when they’re introduced in a service to make sure the taxpayer is receiving the product that the (manufacturer) said they provided,” he said.

With Canada’s next government likely to prioritize reaching a two per cent spending target for its NATO military alliance obligations, the industry in southeast Alberta could be kept busy.

“You’re going to see a lot more systems being brought into Canada or made here in Canada, and then they have to be tested,” Fraser added.

Both the City of Medicine Hat and the Alberta government have taken notice of the work being done.

Alex Wright, city economic development officer, said that the industry is in a perfect spot to flourish.

“It’s not just Medicine Hat, it’s the region,” Wright said.

“The city has identified it as a priority but we’ve also been working with our regional neighbours in Census Division 1 — so Redcliff, Cypress County, Bow Island, County of 40 mile and the Village of Foremost — to do everything we can to support the growth of the industry.”

MLA Justin Wright has spent a lot of time pushing forward the industry on the provincial level.

Wright agreed that southern Alberta is already one of the best areas for the aerospace industry, they just have to showcase it.

“The innovators that we are going to see bring out new technologies — made here at home — that are going to impact and potentially change the world…I love this space, I love these industries,” Wright said.

“I am going to do whatever I can to make sure they’re choosing southeastern Alberta and Alberta to make these kind of investments so we can continue to build the great province that we’ve got.”

While Canada’s aerospace industry took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues were set to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 and well above that metric in 2025, according to the latest Statistics Canada report.

The report shows that, in 2023, the aerospace industry contributed 218,000 jobs to the Canadian economy and $28.9 billion to Canada’s GDP. It’s also maintained a No. 1 ranking for all manufacturing industries in 2023.

Fraser, the CEO, said that support from local and provincial sources has been incredible. He hopes it lets Canadians know that Alberta can be a leader not just here in Canada, but globally.

“What we’re trying to do is just build more awareness so more work comes to this area,” he said.

“So when the Canadian government decides to do something, it knows that it’s got Canadian capability right here and doesn’t have to go shopping elsewhere.”

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