To achieve a core purpose of “reducing human suffering,” the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) sets common global standards for the national control of shipments of conventional weapons across international borders.
On September 17, 2019, Canada became the 105th state party to the global ATT. Project Ploughshares was part of the civil-society push to create this treaty, and has promoted it since.
Project Ploughshares, in partnership with other NGOs, has actively promoted an Arms Trade Treaty since the mid-1990s.
Ploughshares is a member of the Steering Board of the Control Arms Coalition, a group of NGOs promoting the ATT.
Canadian Military Production
Project Ploughshares monitors and reports on Canadian military production and exports.
In support of this work, we maintain the Canadian Military Industry Database which compiles publicly available records of military contracts awarded to Canadian companies as well as annual government records of arms exports to overseas countries.
Reports from the database are made available to a range of researchers and organizations, including the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for its annual compilation of the world’s largest arms industries.
The database is not available online. Requests for database information should be directed to:
Kelsey Gallagher
+1 519 888-6541
Estimates of charges for database searches or reports will be provided on inquiry.
Recent Publications on the Arms Trade Treaty
Open letter re: Ottawa’s decision to lift moratorium on Saudi arms exports
May 15, 2020The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 14 May 2020 Re: Final Report – Review of Export Permits to Saudi Arabia Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, The undersigned, representing a cross-section of Canadian civil society organizations focused on arms controls, human rights, and international security, are writing in ...
Q&A: Mining social media for peace
March 17, 2020Evidence from social media is becoming essential to the study of modern conflict. Civilians and combatants are documenting war in real time, providing researchers with contemporary accounts, complete with photos and video.
Analyzing Canada’s 2018 Report on Exports of Military Goods
October 23, 2019On June 20, Global Affairs Canada released its Report on Exports of Military Goods – 2018. Analysis of this report reveals several worrying trends: an increase in the number of exported weapons systems, a willingness to export such systems to serial human-rights abusers, and persistent gaps in reporting transparency.