9 June 2026 | Governor General Ballroom, Westin, 1 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON

SYNOPSIS

PROGRAM - Read the full program with speakers' biographies here

0830: Opening Remarks 

Transcript available

0840-0855: Opening Brief –What Canadians Are Thinking About Defence  

• Frank Graves, Author, Founder and President of EKOS Research Associates. Frank's Presentation

0900-0955: Industry Recommendations for DIS Implementation

• Victoria Belbin, President & CEO, Atlantic Canada Aerospace & Defence Association 
• Eliot Pence, Co-chair, ACDC; Founder & CEO, Dominion Dynamics
• Philip Baldwin, Vice President, Government & Public Affairs, AIAC 
• Marc Watters, Policy Advisor and Cyber Lead, CADSI 
• Moderator: BGen (ret’d) Chris Ayotte, Amazon Web Services Canada 

Transcript available

0955–1025: Break 

1025–1120: Partnering for Success 

• Joanne Lostracco, Director General Defence Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Washington D.C.  
• Sylvain Menard, Country Director Canada, RTX  
• Dr. Olena Kryzhanivska, COVE Innovation Defence Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 
• Moderator: Dr. David Perry, President and CEO, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 

Transcript available

1125-1215:Driving Implementation at Defence and the DIA

• Marc Rodgers, Chief of Programme, Department of National Defence  
• MGen Richard Schmidt, Chief of Force Development, Department of National Defence 
• Vincent Robitaille, Assistant Deputy Minister, Procurement, Defence Investment Agency
• Dr. Craig Stone, Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 
• Moderator: Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, Vice President, Ottawa Operations, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 

Transcript available

1215-1345: Lunch  

1345–1445: Charting a New Relationship Between Government and Industry 

• Lindsay Smith, Senior Director of Space, Marine, Defence at Innovation Science and Economic Development 
• Jean-François Juneau, Acting Senior Director, Defence Industrial Strategy Team, Department of National Defence  
• Stephanie Batstone, Managing Partner, NyRad Inc. 
• Spencer Fraser, Founder & CEO, Landing Zones Canada 
• John Schmidt, President, Federal Fleet 
• Moderator: Nicole Butler, Western Canada Defence Lead, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 

Transcript available

1445-1525: Break 

1525–1625: Implementing a New Innovation Agenda 

• Dr. Kate Kaminska, Director General, BOREALIS Joint Program Office, Defence Research and Development Canada 
• Ian Smith, Director of Business Development, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta 
• Laurent Carbonneau, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators 
• Dr. Shannon Quinn, Secretary General, National Research Council 
• Moderator: Dr. Alexander Salt, Senior Researcher, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 

Transcript available 

1625–1655: Fireside Chat 

• The Honourable Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State, Defence Procurement
• Moderator: Dr. David Perry, President and CEO, Canadian Global Affairs Institute 

Transcript available 

1655-1700: Closing Remarks   

1700: Reception 

SPONSORS

Thank you to our sponsors for helping facilitate the day's event:

• Lockheed Martin Canada
• General Dynamics
• Hanwha Defence and Ocean
• BAE Systems
• Amazon Web Services 
• COVE
• Davie Shipyards
• Microsoft
• Calian
• Black Diamond
• Stantec

Conference Sponsors:

• TKMS
• Raytheon Canada
• Dominion Dynamics
• HATCH
• Airbus

PICTURES

Dr. David Perry

Frank Graves

From left to right: Eliot Pence, Dr. Philip Baldwin, Victoria Belbin, Marc Watters, BGen (ret'd) Chris Ayotte

From left to right: MGen (ret'd) Sylvain Ménard, Joanne Lostracco, Dr. Olena Kryzhanivska, Dr. David Perry

From left to right: Dr. J. Craig Stone, MGen Richard Schmidt, Marc Rodgers, Vincent Robitaille, Charlotte Duval-Lantoine

From left to right: Spencer Fraser, Stephanie Batstone, John Schmidt, Jean-François Juneau, Lindsay Smith, Nicole Butler

From left to right: Dr. Shannon Quinn, Laurent Carbonneau, Ian Smith, Dr. Kate Kaminska, Dr. Alexander Salt

From left to right: Dr. David Perry and The Honourable Stephen Fuhr

The Honourable David McGuinty

From left to right: Dr. David Perry and The Honourable David McGuinty