After a one-year hiatus, DEFSEC Atlantic kicked into high gear under
strict COVID-19 protocols at its new home in the Halifax Convention
Center. Presented by The Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence As-
sociation (ACADA) from October 5 to 7, the 3-day event saw over 1,000
delegates and over 80 exhibitors from across Canada, and multinational
attendees from over 22 countries who attended a hybrid event mixed
with in person and virtual participation.
As Canada's first major in person defence conference since the out-
break of COVID-19, the forum offered attendees a much-needed outlet
to rekindle existing relationships and develop new ones. Attendees
were a mix of private industry, provincial government, officials from
the Government of Canada, and the Canadian Armed Forces, includ-
ing the Royal Canadian Navy. Additionally, defence attachés from the
Welcome Back DEFSEC Atlantic!
United States, Chile, Brazil, New Zealand, and United Kingdom, as well
as two former Ministers of National Defence, The Honourable Peter
MacKay, PC, QC. and the Honourable David Pratt, PC.
Unlike prior years, DEFESEC offered a new B2B Zone scheduling sys-
tem, which facilitated both in person and virtual networking meetings.
For others, the trade show floor offered the traditional battle ground for
pressing palms and doing deals. The two-day agenda was packed with
numerous industry sponsored thought leadership sessions covering tier
one procurement projects such as the CSC and its shipbuilding ecosys-
tem, training and simulation, the future fighter program and land sys-
tems. Further updates to these programs were delivered by the Depart-
ment of National Defence - DGMPD.
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