DEFSEC Atlantic 2026 was the largest in the show’s history. More than 3,000 people registered for three days in Halifax, with delegations from over 20 countries, as Canada reached NATO’s two per cent spending benchmark and looks to broaden its defence partnerships. Across the floor, the conversation kept returning to the same questions: how quickly new spending becomes real capability, how Canada secures the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and who will supply the uncrewed systems, undersea capability and sovereign supply chains the country now needs.

Newfoundland and Labrador has answers to all of them. Our province sits where Canada meets the North Atlantic, and our companies have spent decades building technology that works in harsh, Arctic and remote conditions. That message is now carried by a united front. Ready at the Edge, a coalition of NL business leaders, operators, engineers and innovators across defence, marine, aerospace and advanced technology, is aligning the province’s collective capability with national defence priorities to grow NL’s share of federal defence contracts. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Built for Defence campaign and website make the same case to Ottawa and our allies: NL has the infrastructure, workforce and strategic location to advance Canada’s security, and always has.

Ahead of DEFSEC, the Forward Flank podcast launched as a defence and strategy conversation series, produced by Gale Force Wins and hosted by Allan Dale, on Newfoundland and Labrador’s role in Canadian and NATO defence. Its first episode features retired Admiral Art McDonald, former Chief of the Defence Staff, on the province’s strategic, geographic and military significance. We are looking for people, companies and infrastructure to feature in upcoming episodes. To suggest a guest or sponsor the series, email info@coic.co.

Forward, Not Remote: Why Location Matters

Newfoundland and Labrador is not remote. It is Canada’s Forward Flank, the western anchor of the North Atlantic approaches NATO must hold. The Greenland–Iceland–UK gap is the chokepoint submarines must cross to reach the open Atlantic; Iceland anchors its eastern side, and NL has anchored the west since 1941. Cape Spear is the easternmost point in North America, and St. John’s is closer to London than Vancouver is to Halifax.

That geography has been chosen again and again. The first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable landed at Heart’s Content in 1866. The United States built Naval Station Argentia in 1941, the Atlantic Charter was signed in Placentia Bay that August, and Argentia went on to serve as an undersea surveillance hub through the Cold War. St. John’s was a key base for convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The logic holds today, and so does the infrastructure:

• 5 Wing Goose Bay: up to $8 billion in NORAD northern basing investment, building on decades of allied air force training.
• 9 Wing Gander: preferred operating base for Canada’s new P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft, on the shortest air route between North America and Europe.
• NATO DIANA test centres: The Launch at the Marine Institute and the National Research Council’s Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering centre are Canada’s only ocean and maritime test centres in the NATO DIANA network.
• Ports and fabrication: ice-free deepwater harbours and fabrication sites at Argentia, Bull Arm, Marystown and St. John’s, ready to support fleets, logistics and large-scale builds.
• Energy and minerals: sovereign clean hydroelectric power and Labrador critical minerals, the foundation of an allied supply chain for defence-critical materials.

The Companies Behind The Message

More than 40 NL companies and organizations took part in DEFSEC Atlantic 2026 as exhibitors, partners and delegates. Many arrived with momentum: Copsys Technologies was selected for NATO’s DIANA accelerator, and PAL Aerospace, Virtual Marine, Solace Power and Rutter received federal Regional Defence Investment Initiative funding this year for defence and Arctic capabilities.

The directory groups them by what they bring:

• Ocean technology and marine: sonar and acoustics, subsea robotics and 3D inspection, smart coatings, marine lighting, radar, simulation, ship design, environmental services and vessel operations proven in the North Atlantic.
• Aerospace, space and defence systems: maritime surveillance aircraft, a type-certified utility aircraft, autonomous drones and drone services, 3D displays, wireless power and a spaceport.
• AI, data, sensing and advanced materials: AI for shipbuilding and training, data analytics, geospatial systems, hazardous-environment sensors and dual-use materials from marine biomass.
• Ports, energy, fabrication and engineering: deepwater ports, Atlantic Canada’s largest marine industrial facility, fuel supply and major construction and engineering capacity.
• Research, education and ecosystem partners: the universities, colleges, R&D centres, industry groups and the Ready at the Edge coalition that train talent, test new technology and carry NL’s case to Ottawa.

Click on each company’s logo to be redirected to their website. Buyers, primes and partners looking for capability can start here, and Co. Innovation Centre can help make the connection.

Missing from this list? This directory may not capture every Newfoundland and Labrador company that took part in DEFSEC Atlantic 2026. If yours should be here, or you are a buyer, prime or partner looking for NL capability, contact Co. Innovation Centre and we will make the connection.