CANSEC 2026 delivered one of the biggest defence announcements of the year. Prime Minister Mark Carney took the stage to confirm that Canada has entered formal negotiations with Saab as the preferred supplier for the future Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) program, enabled by Saab’s GlobalEye platform.

CDR was on the ground throughout CANSEC 2026, capturing booth videos and conducting editorial interviews. Watch the CANSEC Highlights on YouTube.

Watch the highlights video below:

At CDR’s pre-CANSEC reception, we celebrated Joel Houde of GDMS-International as CDR’s Defence Executive of the Year for 2026, recognized for delivering where it matters — from Land C4ISR to Latvia. GDLS-Canada was named Top Canadian Defence Company, reinforcing its role as the backbone of Canada’s armoured vehicle capability.

Premier Doug Ford was also at CANSEC 2026, announcing the Ontario Defence Industrial Strategy—a 10-year roadmap supporting up to 43,000 good-paying jobs and positioning Ontario’s defence sector to lead. GDLS-Canada, named CDR’s Top Canadian Defence Company for 2026, was there to mark the moment with the framed feature in hand. CDR Managing Editor Daniel Kitchen and Publisher Bret Kitchen also shared the moment with the Premier.

For more exciting news announced at CANSEC, read our CANSEC Show Daily available here.