Pack your bags with Canada’s 2026 Fall Defence Events schedule
The internet might be slow at the cottage. But Canada’s defence industry is set for a blazing year.
The first half of 2026 saw an impressive list of domestic industry events, with CANSEC’s record-setting 20K attendance. Plus what you might have missed H1 2026 Canadian Defence Events for a throwback (and to see what to mark in your calendars for early 2027).
Aug through Dec stacks up with more trade shows, summits, and B2B days designed for companies ready to step up their sovereign capability development.
Here are the top H2 2026 events, in chronological order:
The Events
ADSE 2026: Aug. 6-7, Abbotsford, BC. AIAC’s West Coast expo puts government and aerospace leaders in one room for two days of B2B.
Cyber Digital Outlooks 2026: Oct. 1, Ottawa, ON. CADSI seats you across from DND, SSC, CSE, and ISED to talk cyber & digital priorities.
DEFSEC Atlantic 2026: Oct. 6-8, Halifax, NS. Canada’s second largest defence show delivers over a thousand private B2B and government meetings. Last year’s show went international.
Naval Quebec Annual Meeting of the Supply Chain 2026: Oct. 19-20, Quebec City, QC. The shipbuilding supply chain gathers to connect prime contractors with Quebec suppliers.
Spacebound: Oct. 19-21, Ottawa, ON. Networking opportunities with thought leaders in the space industry and discussions on key topics and industry trends.
Best Defence Conference 2026: Oct. 20-21, London, ON. Air, land, naval, C4ISR, and public safety leaders build partnerships and supply chains here. Price tag has gone up on this one!
ABCMI Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show: Oct. 20-21, Vancouver, BC. The West Coast marine industry’s biggest networking day of the year. With a Seaspan Industry day on the 19th.
Canadian Aerospace Summit 2026: Oct. 27-28, Ottawa, ON. AIAC’s flagship event stands as the national aerospace gathering of the year. Can they run two events at the same time?
IPAC Industrial Participation Conference 2026: Oct. 27-28, Ottawa, ON. This event unpacks industrial and technological benefits and shows SMEs how to capture them. Love the timely ITB & Build-Partner-Buy theme.
Deep Blue Forum 2026: Oct. 27, Ottawa, ON. Vanguard’s underwater domain event covers submarines, the Arctic, and Canada’s coastal defence needs.
STIQ Buyer / Supplier Day: Oct. 27, Quebec. Quebec suppliers sit down directly with prime contractors here.
Building Defence 2026: Nov. 9-10, Ottawa, ON. DND and DCC decision-makers and industry stakeholders gather at Canada’s premier defence infrastructure event.
STIQ Symposium 2026: Nov. 12, Quebec. This symposium walks Quebec SMEs through procurement and export opportunities in defence and security.
InCyber Forum 2026: Dec. 1-3, Ottawa-Gatineau, ON/QC. Canada’s largest pan-Canadian cybersecurity and AI safety conference lands in the capital region for the first time.
Here they are by domain:
SMBs must attend
SMEs are the engine of the Defence Industrial Strategy. Primes can’t meet their industrial and technological benefit targets without a strong lineup of Canadian suppliers.
SMEs also account for roughly 92% of Canada’s defence industrial base and 40% of its jobs. Ottawa aims to award 70% of defence acquisitions to domestic firms by 2035. These venues are prime opportunities to scale and help execute the DIS.
Export-readiness also matters for Canada’s trade diversification push. Ottawa just chose TKMS as its preferred submarine supplier for the CPSP, securing a trilateral production partnership with Norway and Germany. But it’s hard to sell abroad if you haven’t sold at home!
Got any other favourite events? Drop some advice on other events worth attending!
P.S. No one covers more transatlantic defence events than canadaxeurope.com. More than 1,408 have subscribed on LinkedIn and Substack to gain & share insight!
P.P.S. Our list of events in Europe to follow next week!
P.P.P.S Here’s a take-home version.
