CanadaxEurope turned one this week. It started with an email.

And like Canada, we’re committing to doubling-down on this transatlantic relationship.

Building transatlantic relationships is hard.

But it started with an email.

CanadaxEurope turned one this week.

Humble beginnings: https://lnkd.in/p/e6mNXkxV

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OK, first, let’s rewind.

Not to 2025, but to 2016.

I was a year into the job.

I took phone calls from any and all comers (I still do; more on that another time).

I was new to the job but glad to have made the jump from the drab towers of 101 Colonel By in Ottawa. Leaving national defence headquarters for the industry portfolio. Industry has a level of hustle you don’t find in bureaucracy.

In this new role, my clients were often better informed than I was and were damn good at what they do, but they had trouble seeing the bigger picture.

Beyond attending CANSEC and a one-off regional event (of which there are now many), they were missing that broader context.

Rather than call each one individually, I put together a quarterly note that could provide some of that context.

I focused on events, large upcoming procurements and the bare bones to get started. A here’s what to watch, here’s what’s coming next.

So I rounded up every email from someone who contacted me, put them in bcc, and hit send. And prayed I wouldn’t get any complaints about being unduly contacted.

And the telephone rang. Not once, but half a dozen times. Within hours.

Some of those telephone calls became my best clients. It helped that the best – the ones who call you on the spot - are also the most motivated.

“You left this out”, one told me.

“Do I really need to attend that?” another asked.

So when Richard Martin convinced me to start a newsletter to accompany my beginnings as a consultant, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just opinion pieces but a guidebook for transatlantic trade.

I’m one of a small number of Canadians living in Europe who understand the business of defence from the inside, and both sides of the aisle.

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Global relationships, redefined

And defence is living a moment.

An unfortunate one, as the world order is shifting. Geopolitics, a return to realpolitik, and a move from unipolar to multipolar.

Reshoring & onshoring supply chains is redefining the global economy.

Whether it’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos speech, tariffs, or just about time, Canada is on the hunt for partners.

New decentralized Media

I also share a thesis: media, and even digital media, is changing.

My favourite defence magazine Canadian Defence Review often posts articles months late. And lives off a pay-to-play model.

They may be digital, but they have an old media lens.

But the era of decentralized media is here:

Noah’s True North Strategic Review ’s discovery was that every government of Canada announcement could be noteworthy.

The Icebreaker combines tech, start-up culture & venture with a new-defence feel.

Build Canada successfully combines community & mission.

Canada X Indo-Pacific covers the IndoPacific - a region essential to the next century.

Institutions are hamstrung by remaining unbiased and an inability to pick winners. Associations all compete for a piece of the pie and won’t publish each other’s events.

CanadaxEurope wants to carve out a space: building transatlantic relationships is hard, we’re building out the roadmap.

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CanadaxEurope definitely has a bias.

There is the occasional opinion piece, like when we argued Canada shouldn’t just buy a submarine, but buy a stake in TKMS.

As well as a comfortable mix of original and informative content, such as covering the staggering defence industry backlogs – a key reason why Europe needs to diversify towards Canadian supply chains.

Or an in-depth look at Canada’s defence industry & Ukraine – one of Canada’s largest diasporas, and an important path to market entry in Europe.

And covering new deals with France to access the French market – a tough nut to crack, but a must attempt.

As well as the high north pivot – the Nordics (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland) are key to Canada’s diversification strategy.

But no selfies, no photos with complete strangers just to prove I was in the room.

Just a view from the ground floor.

And everything you might need to know from a Canadian and European perspective in building a transatlantic defence business.

Mission driven.

And many folks have come along for the ride. From dozens of Canadian government acronym agencies, to BD teams, to executives of European primes and Canadian SMBs, and passer-bys.

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CanadaxEurope turned 1 this past week.

A lot of heart has gone into it. Even the keyboard keys are feeling it.

And from zero to humble number 427 in international on Sidestack means trending in the right direction.

This journey really started a decade ago as an attempt to share information in a sector that isn’t loud about what it does.

One year and 52 publications later,

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s next:

• Adding the ability to pledge;

• Exploring a tiered subscription for more in-depth research and quarterly briefs & reach-outs;

• Our first advertiser;

• More interviews & hosted discussion groups;

• More guest posts (such as the one from Mike Petric);

• Covering more events (beyond Eurosatory, .

Geopolitics is forcing Canada to reexamine its relationship with Europe. New media like Substack will beat out traditional platforms, giving you that ground-floor insight.

And like Canada,

I’m committing to doubling-down on this transatlantic relationship.

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P.S. 1,535 of you have committed to growing a tariff-free transatlantic relationship with Canadaxeurope.com. Thank you for being here!