16 September 2025 | 8:30AM - 6:00 PM EDT | Westin TwentyTwo, 11 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1N 9J1

SYNOPSIS

This one-day conference will explore the barriers and the way forward for Canada to meet the digital moment. The goal is to identify actionable policy recommendations for Canada to harness the power of new and advanced technologies to realize its defence, security, and economic ambitions.

REPORT

Read the report from Abigail Dyer and Érika Dupuis here (PDF)

PROGRAM

Click to view full program here

8:45 - 9:00AM Introduction

• Dr. David Perry, Canadian Global Affairs Institute

9:00 - 9:30AM Keynote

• The Honourable Jenna Sudds, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement and to the Secretary of State

9:35 - 10:35AM Assessing Our Government's Digital Posture

• Marc Brouillard, PSPC
• Derek Dobson, IBM
• Lieutenant-Colonel Amanda Whalen, Royal Canadian Air Force
• Moderator: Vice Admiral (Ret'd) Ron Lloyd, Royal Canadian Navy

10:35 - 11:05AM Networking Break

11:05AM - 12:05PM How Other No Fail Organizations Are Leveraging Digital

• Caroline Cameron, Deloitte
• Tim Gibel, SAP
• Robert Percy, CoLab
• Moderator: Marc Watters, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries

12:05 - 12:45PM Networking Luncheon

12:50 - 1:20PM Keynote

• Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin, Canadian Joint Operations Command

1:20 - 1:35PM Coffee Break

1:35 - 2:35PM Setting the Conditions for Success

• Nutan Behki, Assistant Deputy Minister Shared Services Canada
• Mel Crocker, Air Canada
• Jody Thomas, former National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister
• Moderator: Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Chris Ayotte, Amazon Web Services

2:35-3:05PM – Networking Break

3:05-3:50PM Seizing the Opportunity

• Bill Matthews, Secretary of the Treasury Board
• Moderator: Dave Perry, Canadian Global Affairs Institute

3:50 – 4:00PM Closing Remarks

SPONSORS

This project is supported by the Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program. Ce projet est soutenu par le programme Mobilisation des idées en matière de défense et de sécurité (MINDS) du ministère de la Défense nationale

• Lockheed Martin Canada
• General Dynamics
• Hanwha Defence and Ocean
• BAE Systems
• Amazon Web Services 
• COVE
• Davie Shipyards

Conference Sponsors:

• Dell
• Microsoft