On 24 February 2026, Vanguard’s thirteenth annual maritime forum, ShipTech 2026, was held in Ottawa, with a theme of “The Future of Maritime Platforms”. As with previous ShipTech Forums, the day-long conference was hosted in person, while simultaneously streaming it virtually. Over 280 attended in person, and 84 virtually, spanning both government and industry, resulting in dynamic interaction which was only limited by the time available.

The conference was opened by the MC, Greg MacNeil from NorthStar, with a thought-provoking introduction highlighting how much the geo-political times have changed since the morning keynote speaker, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, had assumed command of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 2022.  Admiral Topshee, in a clear and persuasive manner, then proceeded to lead the audience through a timeline of where he saw the future navy expanding to.  In what can be best described as “Back to the Future”, he showed the remarkable past achievements by Canadians, resulting in the creation of the world’s third largest navy, as well as producing a massive shipbuilding and ship repair capability, from virtually nothing at the start of the Second World War. He then highlighted the fact that Canadians are natural innovators, citing examples of the variable depth sonar, helicopter destroyer interface and other technologies that are now common worldwide, but were originally invented, in Canada, for the RCN. Simply put, Canadians have forgotten what they are capable of doing, and he strongly believes that through a partnership with industry Canada can grow the RCN to meet the needs of the nation. His message was clear: with a new defence industrial strategy and stable funding, Canada needs to ”get back to where we once were”. 

He was then followed by a superb panel discussion on the next step for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, moderated by Commander Dean Lang, RCN Director Naval Requirements Team Lead for the Continental Defence Corvette project.  The panel, representing Director-General’s in the DND Materiel Group, ISED and PSPC conducted an in-depth discussion as to the core successes of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), what have they not done right and what should be the next version of the NSS.  There was agreement that after 15 years the NSS is not only delivering ships, but also building significant future capacity, which has successfully passed a long-term demand signal to industry. As to criticism, the panel all agreed Canada was overly optimistic as to how long it would take the shipyards to rebuild their yards to reflect the demands of modern shipbuilding, while underestimating the relationship with industry needed to put in place the necessary supporting infrastructure. Finally, all agreed the NSS of the future must, first and foremost, avoid the boom & bust cycle of shipbuilding that has caused the situation currently faced by RCN and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) legacy fleets, which is best achieved with continuous building projects.

The morning then proceeded with four technical showcases by:

  • Automatic Coating Limited on corrosion resistant coatings and their application in the marine industry, specifically warships.
  • Fibreglass Solutions Inc, on piping and structural refits in a maritime and naval environment to resolve corrosion and weight issues.
  • ARKTOS Developments on amphibious craft transforming Arctic mobility.
  • Lokring on cold alternatives to welding pipe.

Following a networking break, the second panel discussion of the day on maritime sustainment was moderated by Commodore Michel Thibault, the DND Director-General Maritime Equipment Program Management. The panel, representing the full spectrum of government fleet sustainment activities (DND Project Manager River-Class Destroyers, CCG A/Director-General Vessel Procurement and Seaspan’s Director Submarine Program), discussed the challenges of supporting both new ships joining the fleet and legacy ships that are beyond designed service life. Obsolescence of equipment, including new ships, as well as equipment where the OEM is foreign and long since ceased manufacturing the product, is a significant issue that demands a solid supply chain. The panel agreed that building ships in batches where equipment and supply chain is constantly updated with each batch (and retrofitted to older ships later) is critical to the success of long-term support.

Following a luncheon break, CCG Deputy Commissioner Shipbuilding and Materiel, Robb Wight, gave an excellent presentation on the Canadian Coast Guard shipbuilding plan that will replace the legacy fleet, including the new Polar-class icebreakers, Program Icebreakers and Multi-Purpose Icebreakers being built by Seaspan and Chantier Davie. Additionally, the two CCG Arctic & Offshore Patrol Vessels being built by Irving
Shipbuilding, which he noted will be berthed in HMC Dockyard in Halifax as they are too big for existing CCG facilities. He also spoke of the move of the department from Fisheries & Oceans to DND, clarifying the CCG is not a fourth service of the CAF, but remains a Special Operating Agency under the DND. This change comes with an additional mandate of contributing to maritime domain awareness, which is subject to legislation being passed in Parliament. Finally, he discussed the challenges of improving the sustainment of the current CCG fleet with the new security mandate that will further drive the demand for operational availability of legacy ships.

The afternoon continued with a third panel discussion of the day on autonomous and remotely operated vessels in the Arctic moderated by Robert McCraight a senior naval architect with VARD. The panel, representing OSI Maritime, ABS Global Government Services and L3Harris Technologies, discussed regulatory developments in the Arctic and how to employ autonomous and unmanned vessels under current and future regulatory requirements. Predictability is key to developing a trusted framework which entails working through tests and trials to be able to deploy these systems of systems. Moreover, there is the issue of where/when/how the transfer of autonomy from human control will happen, notably in vessels that are not designed to have a human onboard.

The afternoon then proceeded with two presentations and four technical showcases by:

  • SAFRAN on keeping pace with innovative technology
  • Thales Canada on redefining partnership through regional contracting
  • J-Squared Technologies on next generation shipboard communications
  • Prime Mover Controls on their products
  • GasTOPS on intelligent propulsion system digital twins
  • Atlantiq AI on AI in ship design.

The final event of the forum was an informative presentation by Nicolas Nabaa, the Director-General Marine and Space Procurement for the Defence Investment Agency (DIA), on the new agency. He discussed the need for meaningful change to defence procurement as a result of a long history of structural problems in delivering results to the Canadian Armed Forces and the CCG. He underscored the DIA plan is to build long term industrial capacity in Canada, and to effect faster and more predictive decision making. He noted that DIA will have more procurement authority than previously held by PSPC.

Summary

ShipTech 2026, was successfully and eloquently managed by the MC, who neatly summed up a rather full day which successfully addressed Canada’s ability to deliver complex platforms in a changing world. Without a doubt, ShipTech Forum 2026 benefited from recent government decisions to significantly increase defence spending and the announcement of the new Defence Industrial Strategy. This allowed for a meaningful discussion on future of Canada’s marine industry in procuring and supporting new and legacy fleets.