Manufacturing & Industrial

Best Defence Conference 2026

Best Defence is the front line of access to Ontario - recognized by the Province as Canada's largest defence-industrial base. This two-day event connects industry, the Canadian Armed Forces, and government procurement decision-makers in London, Ontario. The conference provides direct access to industry leaders, military representatives, and key decision-make…

Visit the official siteSponsorship open
57Speakers
31Sponsors
18On the bill · sessions
68Companies · in total
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Speakers

Programmed at Best, in alphabetical order.
Alan Shepard
President · Western University
Andrew Gowan
Regional Vice President & Head of Commercial Banking · National Bank of Canada
Ashan Corea
Program Director · Ontario Defence Association
Brandon Robinson
Co-Founder & CEO · Horizon Aircraft
Cameron King
CPPO, Regional Service Line Leader, Contracts Services · Defence Construction Canada
Cameron King, CPPO
Regional Service Line Leader, Contracts Services · Defence Construction Canada
Captain(N) C.G. Taitt
Director Naval Requirements · Royal Canadian Navy
Carmelita Crisp
Senior Manager for Indigenous Partnerships & Engagement · NAIT Industry Solutions
Colonel Blair McNaught
Director Force Development · Canadian Special Operations Command
Colonel Christopher S. Sines
Director Land Requirements · Canadian Armed Forces
Colonel Paolo Pavese
Director Army Experimentation and Innovation (DAEI) · Canadian Army
Colonel Robert Tyler
Director Air Requirements - Combat · Royal Canadian Air Force
David Hutchison
DG Trade Strategy & Chief Trade Commissioner · Global Affairs Canada
David Lohse
CEO · ITPS (International Test Pilot School)
David Parry
COO · Aegis Critical Energy Defence Corp.
Denise McClure
Director, Economic Development · Invest Brampton
Dr. Charmaine Dean
Vice-President, Research & International · University of Waterloo
Dr. David Muir
Associate Vice-President Innovation & Strategic Partnerships · Western University
Dr. John Walsh
Associate Professor & Director of Defence Industrial Strategy · University of Guelph
Dr. Ramtin Rasoulinezhad
President · Aegis Critical Energy Defence Corp.
Gianni Parise
Vice-President, Research · McMaster University
Glen Lynch
CEO & Co-Founder · Volatus Aerospace
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Sponsors

The houses behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.
ARA Robotics Inc.Platinum
BDCPlatinum
Federal Fleet ServicesPlatinum
General Dynamics Land Systems–CanadaPlatinum
International Test Pilot School (ITPS)Platinum
Invest BramptonPlatinum
Modern RequirementsPlatinum
Raytheon CanadaPlatinum
Western UniversityPlatinum
EllisDon CorporationGold
Invest BarrieGold
LernersGold
Roshel Inc.Gold
Serco CanadaGold
Allient DefenceSilver
Bird ConstructionSilver
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME)Silver
ENSILSilver
IMT CorporationSilver
Invest WindsorEssexSilver
McMaster University / SODINSilver
PreVeil Inc.Silver
Safran Electronics & Defence CanadaSilver
TriMech Group / JavelinSilver
Voyageur AviationSilver
AnvilBronze
A&T Human ResourcesBronze
HENSOLDTBronze
NammoBronze
York RegionBronze
Ontario Defence AssociationPrimary Association Partner
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Agenda

Selected from 18 sessions on the bill.
  • 1:00 PM

    Keynote Address

  • 1:00 PM

    Keynote Speaker

  • 11:00 AM

    Building Canada’s Defence Industrial Capacity: The SME Imperative

    Canada’s defence ambitions cannot be achieved by large contractors alone. Building a stronger, more resilient defence industrial base requires more Canadian SMEs and startups to sc…

    Industrial Strategy
  • 11:00 AM

    Technology Showcase

    Technology Showcase
  • 11:30 AM

    Continental Defence & NORAD Modernization

    Defence Outlooks
  • 11:30 AM

    The Gulf Between Rhetoric and Reality

  • 1:30 PM

    Building Canada's Defence Sovereignty

    How Canadian companies, domestic investment, and a strong Buy Canadian strategy can build critical infrastructure, strengthen national security, and support Canada’s allies.

  • 1:30 PM

    Canada's Path Forward with Defence

    Industrial Strategy
  • 2:00 PM

    Canadian Sovereignty Panel

Intermission
Part the Second · For the Buyer

What does it mean when 68 companies show up, and 10 bet on three roles at once?

68 companies. ten are betting more than once.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
10All threespeak · spons · exh
21Sponsoringsponsor only
37Companies Speakingspeaker only

The Triple-Threat

Ontario Defence Association·Serco Canada·Western University·Anvil·ARA Robotics Inc.·BDC·Invest Barrie·Invest Brampton·Lerners·Roshel Inc.

Speakers by seniority

63% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite1526%
  • Founder / Owner12%
  • VP-level59%
  • Director / Head of1526%
  • Manager / Lead35%
  • Advisor / Investor24%
  • Other roles1628%

Of 57 on the bill · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
  1. 01Ontario Defence AssociationSp·P2V
  2. 02Serco CanadaSp·G2V
  3. 03Western UniversitySp·P2V
  4. 04AnvilSp·B1V
  5. 05ARA Robotics Inc.Sp·P1V
  6. 06BDCSp·P1V
  7. 07Invest BarrieSp·G1V
  8. 08Invest BramptonSp·P1V
  9. 09LernersSp·G1V
  10. 10Roshel Inc.Sp·G1V
  11. 11Allient DefenceSp·S
  12. 12A&T Human ResourcesSp·B
  13. 13Bird ConstructionSp·S
  14. 14Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME)Sp·S
Sponsors by tier
platinum9
29% of 31
gold5
16% of 31
silver11
35% of 31
bronze5
16% of 31
primary association partner1
3% of 31