Lastwall Raises $16M to Bring Battle-Tested Cyber Defense Home to Canada

For years, Canadian cybersecurity companies have followed a familiar playbook: build the technology at home, then chase validation south of the border before anyone takes them seriously. Lastwall just flipped that script. The identity security firm has closed a $16 million CAD ($11.5 million USD) investment round led by the Business Development Bank of Canada through BDC Capital's StrongNorth Fund, and the plan is to bring capabilities already proven in the United States federal market back home to defend Canadian systems.

The announcement, made this week, positions Lastwall as one of the StrongNorth Fund's earliest investments and its very first in cybersecurity. The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Frostbite Capital, and existing backers Blue Bear Capital, BlueWing Ventures, and 18West also took part. For the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, it was the largest single investment in the foundation's history, a sign of how seriously Atlantic Canada takes its growing cybersecurity reputation.

Why this round matters now

Timing is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. Governments and infrastructure operators across North America are dealing with a wave of attacks aimed at energy systems, telecommunications networks, defense installations, transportation grids, and public sector institutions. In that climate, a company that already holds a FedRAMP Moderate Authorization, one of the most demanding cybersecurity approvals in the U.S. federal ecosystem, arrives with credentials that are hard to argue with.

According to the announcement, Lastwall has spent nearly a decade securing some of the world's most sensitive government environments. Its customers reportedly include the U.S. Department of War and the Government of Canada. The company says it has proven its platform in air-gapped defense environments and in operational technology systems that keep energy and utilities running, including cloud, hybrid, and fully disconnected setups. These are the places where traditional identity systems often break down: denied, degraded, intermittent, and low-bandwidth conditions where there is no help desk to call.

"This is not a pivot away from the U.S.," founder and CEO Karl Holmqvist said in the announcement. "It's the next phase of a North American resilience mission. We proved our model in the world's most demanding federal market, earned FedRAMP Moderate Authorization, and secured U.S. government systems. Now, we're bringing those trusted capabilities home to help strengthen Canada's cyber resilience at a defining moment for national security."

The sovereign security pitch

One word keeps showing up in the statements around this deal: sovereign. BDC Capital's Peter Suma, managing partner of the StrongNorth Fund, framed the investment as a bet on Canadian economic sovereignty. His fund invests in domestic companies developing defense-relevant and dual-use technologies, and he described Lastwall's identity platform as addressing a critical vulnerability across defense, government, and infrastructure systems operating in increasingly contested environments.

That framing lands in a political moment when Ottawa has been pushing to build up Canada's defense industrial base and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers for sensitive technology. A trusted, interoperable identity platform built by a Canadian company, and tested in the U.S. federal market, checks a lot of boxes for allied governments looking for what Lastwall calls a high-assurance identity security option.

Jeff White, CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, put it in regional terms: "New Brunswick has built a strong advantage in cybersecurity, and NBIF is proud to back companies like Lastwall that are turning that strength into global opportunity." His foundation's record-sized commitment suggests the province sees cybersecurity as an export industry, not just a defensive cost.

What the money is for

The company says the new capital will accelerate expansion deeper into both the U.S. and Canadian markets, applying its battle-tested capabilities across defense and civilian systems on both sides of the border. Lastwall's stated ambition is to sit at the center of a continental resilience mission, helping defend critical systems in both countries rather than choosing one.

For Canadian customers, the practical pitch is straightforward. Identity and access control remains one of the most attacked surfaces in any network, and the places that need it most, from power utilities to remote defense installations, are often the hardest to protect. A platform designed for disconnected and low-bandwidth environments speaks directly to Canada's geography, where remote infrastructure is the norm and a stable internet connection cannot be assumed.

A sign of where Canadian capital is going

The round also says something about where Canadian institutional money is headed. BDC's StrongNorth Fund was launched to accelerate Canadian technologies critical to national security, economic resilience, and defense modernization. Making a cybersecurity company one of its first bets signals that the fund's managers see cyber as foundational to the country's defense posture, not as a side category.

It fits a broader pattern. Canadian investors have been waking up to defense and dual-use technology as a serious category, and the involvement of a pension-linked institution like BDC gives the sector a stamp of mainstream legitimacy it did not have a few years ago. When the country's development bank is leading rounds in cyber defense, the taboo around backing military-adjacent technology is clearly fading.

Whether Lastwall can convert American credentials into Canadian contracts at scale is the question that will decide if this round was well spent. But the company is not starting from zero: it already counts the Government of Canada among the institutions that trust its platform. The new funding gives it the resources to turn a foothold into something much bigger.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Lastwall do?

Lastwall builds a high-assurance identity security platform designed to control who can access sensitive systems. It is built to work in demanding environments such as air-gapped defense networks, operational technology systems in energy and utilities, and disconnected or low-bandwidth settings where conventional identity tools often fail.

Who led the $16 million funding round?

The round was led by the Business Development Bank of Canada through BDC Capital's StrongNorth Fund. The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Frostbite Capital, and existing investors Blue Bear Capital, BlueWing Ventures, and 18West also participated. It is one of the StrongNorth Fund's first investments and its first in cybersecurity.

Why is the company expanding into Canada now?

According to founder and CEO Karl Holmqvist, the company proved its platform in the U.S. federal market, earning FedRAMP Moderate Authorization, and now wants to bring those capabilities home to strengthen Canada's cyber resilience. The company says the move is an expansion of its North American mission, not a shift away from the United States.