CDA's Ottawa Conference - you’re missing out on The Road to 5%

If you’re not at CDA’s Ottawa Conference today, you’re missing out on The Road to 5% - an aptly named title.

“In June 2025, the federal government announced its intention to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. This historic commitment will expand the size, structure, and readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces, strengthening Canada’s capabilities across all domains. Yet the path to 5% is about more than increasing military capacity—it requires careful choices to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty, security, and prosperity.”

At CDA’s Ottawa Conference, the stuffy, venerable halls will be filled with uniforms and defence & tech companies. Something that should happen more often.

The Fairmont Château Laurier is the type of place where tea and champagne meet carpentry and asbestos in a uniquely Canadian way.

It remains a high-brow event. Generals and ex-generals. Deputy Ministers and ex DMs. Professors, parliamentarians and research staff. Lobbyists aplenty. A crowded annex for exhibitors.

- The Conference of Defence Associations Institute serves as an umbrella group for 40 associations & 400K active and ret’d members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

- The agenda is packed with dense topics – readiness, mobilisation, joint forces integration and the occasional fireside chat.

Last year’s edition

Missing from the event agenda? Europe.

Despite the region’s importance (SAFE, Defence Cooperation Agreements) and the need for trade diversification, it’s not on the agenda. However, the future of NATO is, and like yin and yang, it’s hard to separate the two.

If you missed out, for SMBs, would I recommend keeping it on your agenda? Maybe. Knowing who your target audience is and where you are in the value chain is important.

There are more than a dozen defence events in Canada this winter & spring alone. One in every province (increasingly, every city).

But no other event brings together senior decision-makers from government, defence and the tech industry the same way.

So you’re missing out, but you can catch the intellectual themes from the sidelines on CPAC: https://www.cpac.ca/en