Chief Executive Officer at ACADA

As part of CDR’s annual Atlantic Canada-themed issue, we asked Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, to speak with Victoria Belbin, CEO of the Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association (ACADA), about this region’s Aerospace & Defence (A&D) industry, and the opportunities and challenges that it faces. Here is that conversation.

CDR: How is Atlantic Canada’s A&D industry doing in 2024?

Victoria Belbin: All indications show that it’s doing well.

We are hearing from our members that they are busy. This is reflective in the amount of project announcements being made by our members. All you have to do is follow us on LinkedIn, it’s not hard to see the industry is taking off – literally.

The data is beginning to show this growth – especially in employment. According to the State of Canada’s Defence Industry Report (Spring 2024), we have seen a 2% increase in employment in the sector from 2020-2022. Considering the size of our industry, that’s significant.

We also know that APEC data from June 2024 showed key economic indicators related to the A&D industry in our region. Employment growth is nearly double the national rate with relatively high wage growth, and inflation is now at or below 3% and leads the country in retail sales growth.

ACADA’s membership growth and extremely high engagement rates reflect the strength of the industry right now. There is optimism around our strategic location, excellent infrastructure, partnerships, and global competitiveness.

CDR: What makes Atlantic Canada’s A&D industry unique in national and global marketplaces?

Victoria Belbin: We have seen the momentum and global reputation of our Atlantic Canadian region as a place to do business. Our ecosystem and infrastructure are world-class. ACADA members – who represent the industry in Atlantic Canada very well – are at the forefront of an ever-changing A&D industry. They are our best ambassadors.

For example, our Atlantic Reception at CANSEC is a highly regarded event, where over 400 folks from across the country gather to connect, share ideas, and build relationships.

The Atlantic Canadian A&D industry is unique and diverse with a growing number of new entrants. As for specialities, the Atlantic region’s strengths are in Naval Shipbuilding and Design, Aircraft MRO [maintenance, repair, and overhaul], and Naval Mission Systems. However, our members are delivering varied and vital products and services in land, marine, air, and space domains to the global marketplace.

Our capabilities are strong, but I believe that regional collaboration is the backbone of our industry. Here in Atlantic Canada, we have true partnerships with all key players; our networks are strong locally, nationally, and globally. Specifically, ACADA partners with ACOA [Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency], the four provincial governments, academic institutions, and associations for the betterment of the A&D industry. We share common goals and commitment to the industry as our funders, creating a unique collaborative opportunity that we rely on to support our members.

We often see that our members are not competitors to each other – nor are we competitive with other industries. Instead, we are very familiar with each other allowing for innovative projects and partnerships that Atlantic Canada can bring to the national and global marketplace.

CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION

CDR: You mentioned collaboration between sectors. Could Atlantic Canada’s Green and Tech sectors see applications in A&D and vice versa? Please tell us more about this and the options for growth within A&D for those who haven’t traditionally thought of their businesses having defence applications.

Victoria Belbin: ACADA members take pride in making the world a better, safer place; and they are already delivering vital products and services to the global marketplace. For this group who truly know how to innovate, cross-sector collaboration and expanding applications are second nature. We’re already seeing it in healthcare and energy applications.

ACADA provides strategic counsel, valuable connections, and opportunities for our members in many areas and, increasingly, we are integrating greening into the conversation and support programming. As a regional industry association, we are committed to helping Atlantic Canada stand out as leaders in the world in this energy transition.

As the world is making a commitment to a clean energy transition, the question remains – in the race to decarbonization, where will all this new energy come from?

Thankfully, Atlantic Canada is at the forefront of this change. As I mentioned before, partnerships are ingrained in the way we do business here in Atlantic Canada. And our members are looking to others for green tech integrations, and vice versa.

Parliament is currently considering Bill C-49; legislation that would add oversight of offshore renewable energy development, primarily wind energy, to the mandate of offshore oil and gas regulators for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. This presents a tremendous opportunity for Atlantic Canadian SMEs.

ACADA sees an opportunity as an association to help facilitate the change for the A&D sector. We are helping industry build the pathway to a greener future. In fact, ACADA is developing a new greening program to help SMEs explore greening opportunities in the coming years.

To give you an example, at the 2024 Maritime and Arctic Security and Safety (MASS 2024) Conference we hosted a panel called ‘Sustainable Horizons: The Path to Green Energy in A&D’. This panel features Jason Aspin (CEO/CTO, AKA Energy Systems), Dr. Tom Cooper (Professor, Strategic Management, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University), and Sean Leet (Partner, Managing Director and CEO, World Energy GH2) — a perfect example of cross-sector collaboration and thought leadership.

In addition, our industry’s strong collaborative relationship with government at all levels will serve us well in the green transition.

CDR: You also mentioned the speed at which opportunities are arising, and competition from other countries to meet that demand. What can we do to harness a growing A&D supply chain for the benefit of Canadians?

Victoria Belbin: Opportunities are international but also here in Canada through the Federal Government Defence Policy focused on the Arctic, National Shipbuilding Strategy, and more recently with the ICE [Icebreaker Collaboration Effort] Pact announcement, for example.

Right now, the opportunities are vast for SMEs in the supply chains that will build from these massive national and international initiatives. Since SMEs are the majority of our membership, we focus a lot of our time on ensuring they are competitive on the world stage. Specifically, SMEs can engage with funding, events, and programming to propel their growth and harness supply chain opportunity.

First, ACADA provides funding programs through the support of ACOA to enhance SME competitiveness in human resources, digitization, certification, accreditation, greening, and more. These programs are built-for-purpose in direct reaction to industry needs.

Second, ACADA events bring decision makers together. For example, we host the Maritime and Arctic Security and Safety (MASS) Conference annually with a goal of ensuring industry is informed and prepared to partner by developing a stronger understanding of working in northern and arctic environments.

Third, we offer trade missions to bring Atlantic Canadian excellence to strategic national and international markets. The collaboration shown at these events is exceptional and successful.

Overall, as the A&D industry grows, so does the economy and security for the benefit of all Canadians. This is certainly something to get excited about and wrap our efforts around to bring to fruition.

LOOKING AHEAD

CDR: What are ACADA’s priorities as we head into a year seemingly full of opportunity for Atlantic Canadian SMEs?

Victoria Belbin: ACADA’s focus for the coming year is building the competitiveness of our SMEs through our new programs and activities. Last year, we piloted three programs that were a huge success with our members. I’m happy to say that ACOA has also seen the benefit in these programs and have committed to multi-year funding for them to continue. The funding programs focussed on key areas for competitiveness in A&D: Human Resources, Digital Adoption, and Certification and Accreditation. Now, in 2024/25, we are adding a fourth stream focussing on greening and ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance].

We also want to deepen our engagement with our members and help foster stronger relationships with the provincial governments.

Simply by the nature of defence contracts, the A&D sector is often under the radar. However, in a complicated and tension-filled geopolitical world, defence and security will have increased importance at the regional level. In our role as the industry association, we want to ensure that our industry’s success is known and supported. International success and innovation are taking place in our own backyards, yet little is known about the advancements and opportunities for dual use in this growing sector.

Overall, we don’t want to work in a silo. ACADA is committed to amplifying member success and forging strong connections between varied groups. There is space at the A&D table for industry stalwarts, new players, cross-sector collaboration, government, and a myriad of diverse voices. As the A&D industry succeeds, as do we all, as Canadians.

CDR: Thank you.

James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief