BlackBerry to Protect Federal Government Phones for Next 7 Years

The federal government is doubling down on its partnership with BlackBerry, announcing a major contract extension to keep its sensitive communications encrypted and hosted on home soil.

Shared Services Canada confirmed on Wednesday that it has finalized a deal to significantly increase the use of BlackBerry’s SecuSUITE platform across federal departments for the next seven years.

The move is a major win for the Waterloo-based company, which has spent decades pivoting from hardware (RIP BlackBerrys) to high-level security software. SecuSUITE provides encrypted voice, messaging, and file-sharing for authorized government users, ensuring that sensitive data is stored and managed within Canadian data centres rather than on foreign servers.

According to the announcement, the deal aligns with Canada’s Buy Canadian policy. Beyond the federal level, provinces and territories now have the option to adopt the same terms to keep their communications consistent and secure.

“In light of evolving geopolitical risks, adopting a made-in-Canada approach to federal technology is increasingly important to strengthen our digital sovereignty,” said Jenna Sudds, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Government Transformation.

John J. Giamatteo, CEO of BlackBerry, noted that the agreement reflects a long-term trust in the company’s ability to protect sensitive operations. “As a Canadian company with decades of experience supporting governments and allies, we are proud to deliver interception-resistant communications,” he said.

The government is also working on scaling the software to all official devices, including mobile phones and desktops, while negotiating better pricing as the rollout expands.

There was no mention of how much BlackBerry’s contract is worth for this deal extension. But Shared Services Canada spends Shared Services Canada (SSC) over $3.7 billion annually to manage IT procurement.