In the announcement, the Prime Minister said that the new agency will have a mandate to work closely with Britain, France, and Australia, which all have a dedicated body for military procurement already. 

This move aligns with the Carney administration’s promise to rebuild the Canadian Armed Forces by reworking the clumsy procurement system it currently operates under. The DIA will handle new procurements for the armed forces, but any contracts in the delivery phase already will continue to be handled by the agency the contract is currently with. To staff the agency, personnel are being moved out of roles in National Defence and Public Services and Procurement where they were doing the same work. 

The inaugural head of the department will be former Royal Bank of Canada deputy chairman Doug Guzman.