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Win more business.
Protect your margin.

The commercial intelligence desk for small and mid-sized businesses in Canada, and the advisors they trust.

Alerts on opportunities and margin risks, with sources.

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A working harbour in the warm light of early morning

On your watch

Opportunity alertDefence suppliers need your shop.
Cash alertA new duty just maxed out your bond.

You can’t be everywhere.
We keep watch.

Opportunity alerts, competitor and pricing monitoring, and margin warnings, in one place.

  1. Sources

    Trade, industry and government

  2. Drover

    Matched to what you sell

  3. Alert and brief

    What changed, with sources

  4. Your decision

    While there’s still time

Drover monitors thousands of sources around the clock. Experienced analysts review what matters before it reaches you.

DroverSample brief
Signal
Opportunity
Market
Precision machining · Waterloo Region
Confidence
High · official programs
Reviewed
Deadline
This week: file your Controlled Goods registration

U.S. tariffs are slowing your orders. Canada's new drone suppliers need a machine shop.

What this means

About 400 firms just qualified to supply drones to Canada's military. Follow-on contracts will test who can make parts at scale, and 11 near you list no machining. Your shop can, once you hold a Controlled Goods registration.

Your next move

  1. File your Controlled Goods registration this week. The standard is 32 business days, and it's running longer.
  2. Within 30 days, pitch the 11 qualified suppliers near you as their production partner.
  3. Apply in the next quarterly intake. Keep serving your U.S. customers on current terms.

The impact

~400

Drone suppliers just qualified527 firms applied in round one. Up to $50M in first contracts is already awarded, and intakes reopen every 3 months to July 2027.

No dollar figure: contract values per supplier aren't published yet.

To confirm

Check which of your parts count as controlled goods, and the next intake date on CanadaBuys.

Key evidence

  • Since 22 August 2026, the U.S. has charged an extra 50% on a range of Canadian goods, including industrial machinery. Goods that qualify under CUSMA are not exempt. From 15 September, 122 more codes were added, and the tariff now stacks on Section 232 tariffs. 12
  • The Defence Drone Initiative marketplace is open to Canadian suppliers only. Its first round closed on 14 August with 527 companies and more than 1,000 bids. 34
  • By September, nearly 400 vendors had qualified, and up to $50 million in first contracts had been awarded to Canadian suppliers. Qualification reopens every 3 months to July 2027, then every 6 months to July 2031. 5
  • Follow-on solicitations will test production capacity and supply-chain integrity. Suppliers are advised to register in the Contract Security Program and the Controlled Goods Program. 5
  • Controlled Goods registration is required before you can receive bid documents that contain controlled goods. The standard is 32 business days, and PSPC says processing is currently significantly longer. 6
  • Supply arrangements are published as award notices, for example SA 153, awarded on 24 August. Matched to your area, 11 qualified suppliers within 150 km list no machining. 7

How Drover found this

U.S. tariff notices, drone marketplace award notices and Controlled Goods timing, matched to your order book and machines. First flagged on 23 July, when the marketplace opened.

Find the opening.
Keep the profit.

Costs change after you quote.

Drover alerts you while you can still revisit the numbers.

See a risk brief

Be the call your client
is glad you made.

Alerts on each client’s opportunities and margin pressure, with the context to make the call.

  • Five client businesses included
  • Each alert names the client affected
  • Your judgment leads the advice
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Built for accountants and tax advisors, customs and trade brokers, and business consultants.

Your business moves on WhatsApp.
Drover can meet you there.

Email and PDF briefs, plus WhatsApp or Slack depending on your plan, setup and availability.

  • WhatsApp
  • Slack
  • Email
  • PDF briefs

Built in Canada, for Canadian businesses and the markets they trade with.

I’ve sat on your
side of the desk.

“Big companies buy an edge with analyst teams and expensive intelligence. In 25 years of building businesses and working with owners and investors across several countries, one thing has stayed constant: that edge decides who wins. I built Drover to close that gap - so trade-exposed SMBs and the advisors who support them get the same quality of insight, priced for their size, without the enterprise software headache.”

Derek Shepherd, Founder of Drover Intelligence

Derek Shepherd, Founder, Drover Intelligence

Your intelligence desk.
Built around your business.

What big companies staff in-house, priced for yours.

Billing period

Drover for Business

$249CAD / month, plus tax

First 12 paid months, then $349 / month.

  • 7-day free trial
  • Monitoring tailored to your business
  • Opportunity and margin alerts, with briefs
  • Your team included
Join the founding list
Business plan details

For the markets behind your sales and margins. The founding rate applies from your first paid month, and your team is included with help from the Drover team.

Find your next customer

  • Buying shifts and supply gaps relevant to what you sell.
  • Alerts when a change creates an opening, with context on who to approach.

Protect the margin on your next order

  • Tariff and freight changes that affect your costs.
  • Alerts in time to review a quote or supplier commitment.

Stay informed between decisions

  • Monitoring follows your products and markets as conditions change.
  • Relevant developments come to you. No searching.

Decide with the evidence in front of you

  • Each brief sets out the finding and what it means for you.
  • Follow the sources and ask follow-up questions.

Bring your team into the conversation

  • Share alerts and briefs with colleagues or your advisor.
  • Findings and evidence stay together for later.

Work with the Drover team

  • Tell us about your business and the decisions ahead.
  • We help set up your monitoring and get alerts to you where you work.

Drover for Advisors

$599CAD / month, plus tax

First 12 paid months, then $799 / month.

  • 7-day free trial
  • Five client businesses included
  • Alerts and briefs for each client
  • Extra clients: $99 CAD / month each
Join the founding list
Advisor plan details

For your firm and the clients who rely on your advice. The founding rate applies from your first paid month.

Monitor every client’s markets

  • Monitoring tailored to each client’s markets.
  • Alerts name the client affected and what the change could mean.

Walk into client meetings prepared

  • Briefs explain what changed and why it matters, with sources.
  • Your judgment shapes the advice. You decide what to share.

Give each client their own watch

  • Each included client gets everything in Drover for Business.
  • Client records stay separate and easy to find.

Add clients as your practice grows

  • Five client businesses included.
  • More clients: $99 CAD / month each.

No lock-in. Cancel anytime with one month’s notice. See terms

Need a dedicated desk? Drover Advisory, by invitation.

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Be one of our
founding members.

Drover is currently waitlist only.

  1. Join the list. It’s free.
  2. The Drover team invites you in small groups as places open.
  3. 7 days free, then you decide.
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Drover for Business. You choose a plan only after your seven free days.

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Get your questions
answered.

What is Drover?

Drover is the commercial intelligence desk for small and mid-sized businesses in Canada, and the advisors they trust. It monitors your buyers, competitors, prices, tariffs and costs, and alerts you to opportunities and margin risks, with sourced decision briefs. If a story moves on, we tell you.

Is Drover software or a team?

Both. Drover’s system does the watching and matching. Experienced analysts review key alerts and sharpen each brief, so you get judgment, not just data.

Who is Drover for?

Small and mid-sized businesses in Canada, including trade and wholesale, retail and e-commerce, and cross-border businesses, and the advisors they trust: accountants and tax advisors, customs and trade brokers, and business consultants.

Is this useful if I don’t import?

Yes. Shifts in customer demand or supplier terms affect you even if you never import. Drover follows what you sell and the markets you depend on.

I already work with an advisor. How does Drover fit in?

Drover monitors between conversations with your advisor. Share an alert or brief and decide together. Advisors can also use Drover across their clients’ markets.

How do founding invitations work?

Drover is currently waitlist only. Joining is free and doesn’t start a subscription or a trial. The Drover team sends invitations in small groups as places open.

What does founding access cost?

Drover for Business is $249 CAD a month for your first 12 paid months, then $349. Drover for Advisors is $599 CAD a month, then $799, including five client businesses; each extra client is $99 CAD a month. Yearly founding prices are $2,490 CAD (Business) and $5,990 CAD (Advisors), paid upfront, for the same service. Prices are before applicable taxes. Additional consulting is quoted separately.

What do founding members receive?

The full service for your plan, at a founding rate fixed for your first 12 paid months. Renewal prices are shown with each plan.

How does yearly billing work?

Pay upfront for 10 months and get 12. Business is $2,490 CAD for the first year, then $3,490. Advisors is $5,990 CAD, then $7,990. Each extra client is $990 CAD a year.

Can I cancel?

Yes. No lock-in. Cancel any plan from your account with one month’s notice. Yearly plans are refunded for unused months.

When do my seven trial days start?

Your seven free days start once your access is ready and you’ve confirmed your business details. We’ll tell you the start and end dates. No paid plan starts until you choose one.

Can I introduce a client without an advisor plan?

Yes. Make an introduction through the founding list form. No advisor plan needed.

How are clients counted on the Advisor plan?

Five client businesses are included. Each extra business is $99 CAD a month or $990 CAD a year. Adding colleagues doesn’t add clients.

How will I receive my intelligence?

By email, with PDF briefs for the detail, and through WhatsApp or Slack, depending on your plan, setup and availability. You can reply with follow-up questions.

How does Drover help with a tariff decision?

Your brief sets out the change and the evidence. If classification or treatment still needs confirming, it flags the question for your broker before you commit to a price.