canada • europe • connects
Transatlantic Partnerships for Security and prosperity
Ottawa, May 26, 2026
“We are doubling our defence spending by the end of this decade, and we are doing so in ways that build our domestic industries. We are rapidly diversifying abroad. We have agreed (to) a comprehensive strategic partnership with the European Union, including joining SAFE, Europe’s defence procurement arrangements.”
– The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
Davos, Switzerland – January 20, 2026
A Defining Moment for Canada and Europe
- The transatlantic security order is being rebuilt—fast. Canada’s choices now, on defence innovation, strategic partnerships, and investment, will shape our role in this alliance for decades.
- Join us in Ottawa for the launch of Canada-Europe Connect—a CityAge series that began in Vancouver and will expand across Canada and Europe.
- This Ottawa gathering is a high-level leaders’ briefing on how to build a remarkable new corridor of Canada–Europe trade and investment in defence and strategic industries—grounded in dual-use technology that strengthens allied security while also advancing civilian resilience and sovereignty.
- You’ll meet investors, founders, and leaders working where defence, technology, and commerce converge. We will spotlight Invest Ottawa’s 2025–2030 plan to position the Capital Region as Canada’s premier defence innovation and investment hub, built around AI, cyber, space, robotics, and semiconductors.
SOME OF THE LEADERS WHO WILL BE THERE
Ilze Lacgalve
Head of the Investment & Development Agency
Latvia Representative Office in Canada
David Castle
Professor, Public Administration and Gustavson School of Business at University of Victoria&Researcher in Residence
Mayor Berry Vrbanovic
Mayor of Kitchener, ON ~ Co-President of UCLG ~ Past-President of Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Velma McColl
Senior strategist, Woman on the move. Career and life shift to more proactive collaborations and projects, inside Earnscliffe and in the wider world. GSD with humanity and joy.
Peeter Tali
Member of the Estonian Parliament, Chair of the European Affairs Committee and Member of the National Defence Committee
Viestarts Vidins
AI+HUMAN translations for regulated industries that reduce compliance risk Founder & CEO, AD VERBUM
Program Agenda (8:30 AM – 4:00 PM)
Subject to change. Speakers will be announced soon.
08:00 – 08:45 | Arrival & Coffee
08:45 – 09:00 | Welcome: The Transatlantic Opportunity
- H.E. Margus Rava, Ambassador of Estonia to Canada
- Sonya Shorey, CEO, Invest Ottawa
09:00 – 09:45 | Fireside 1: Canada Europe Connects — The Next Transatlantic Trade and Investment Operating System
Hear about the new and old trade deals that will catalyze defence-relevant trade, regulatory cooperation, and dual-use supply chains — and the foundations for Canada–Europe joint industrial scaling. A federal, city, and EU-business perspective on how trade and investment infrastructure becomes real on the ground.
- Celso Boscariol, President, EU Chamber of Commerce in Canada (West), Member of one of the original CETA working groups.
- Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, Past President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
- Ruben Kubiak, Deputy Head of Trade and Economic Section, EU Delegation to Canada
- Moderator: Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of International Trade
9:50 – 10:45 | Fireside 2: Arctic & Northern Opportunities — A First Look at Space to Ice
Defence posture, dual-use technology, and the sovereignty questions reshaping the Northern hemisphere. A preview of the themes CityAge will carry into the Space to Ice campaign this fall.
- Opening Presentation: Col. Pierre LeBlanc, Former Commander of the Canadian Forces in the Canadian Arctic (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut)
- Brett Tackaberry, Principal Architect, Google Cloud
- Ari Arnórsson, Arctic Innovator and Founder, Ísar
- Moderator: Jaakko Autere, Counsellor Trade and Commercial Affairs, Finland
10:45 – 11:25 | Fireside 3: Transatlantic IP Strategies
Building national and multi-national markets while securing the intellectual property that anchors growth in Canada. Lessons for every nation sending innovation to new markets.
- Roula Thomas, VP IP, Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON)
- The Hon. Murray Rankin, KC — Former BC Attorney General, MP, and first Chair of Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Review Agency. Board Advisor SkyScoutai
11:30 – 12:10 | Fireside 4: AI Sovereignty, Cybersecurity, Quantum & Innovation
Canada’s investments in sovereign AI, data infrastructure, and investments in quantum are one of the biggest transatlantic opportunities. These pioneers will tell us what is ahead.
- Samuel Witherspoon, CEO, Anvil
- Rachel Porteous, Chief Information Officer, NtangledState Inc
- Terry Popowich, CEO Qorsa
- Konstantinos Kapsouropoulos, Digital & Science Counsellor, EU Delegation to Canada
- Moderator: Daniel Blanc, CEO, Wisdom GS — Former CAF Cyber Commander
12:15 – 12:55 | Networking Lunch
12:55 – 13:50 | Fireside 5: Ottawa as Canada’s Defence Innovation Capital — The Area X.O. and Dual Use Procurement Strategies
A look at how Canada built one of the continent’s premier robotics and drone test sites, and what it means for driving defence innovation, procurement pathways, and dual-use commercialization.
- Scott Simmie, InDro Robotics— one of Canada’s premier innovators in drones and robotics
- Katheron Intson, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, Sentinel R&D
- Janis Rutkovskis, Eraser (Latvia)
- Moderator: (Rtd) Col. Mark Aruja, Aerial Evolution Association of Canada
13:50 – 14:45 | Fireside 6: Frontline Innovation — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Why the front-line and Northern EU countries are the most active procurement corridors in Europe, what Canadian firms need to know about market entry, and where the partnership pathways are opening now.
- Peeter Tali, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee, Estonian Parliament
- Danny Angers, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President, Vosker
- H.E. Egidijus Meilūnas, Lithuania Ambassador to Canada
- Anna Pipin, Chief Representative — Poland and the Baltic States, Export Development Canada
- Moderator: Ilze Lacgalve, Head of the Investment & Development Agency, Latvia Representative Office in Canada
14:45 | Welcome to Reception (Hosted by the Estonian Business Chamber)
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