O
n May 27-28, the world’s biggest war profiteers will once again come to the EY Centre to showcase their weapons of mass killing as part of the annual CANSEC convention organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).
15,000 attendees are expected to attend this year’s CANSEC, which will feature 300 companies, over 60 international delegations, and 45 Members of Parliament, Senators, and Cabinet Ministers. Keynote speakers this year include Defence Minister David McGuinty, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, and former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Critics argue that the companies that market their products are directly implicated in human rights atrocities, such as Israel’s genocide and war crimes in Palestine. At the same time, representatives of international delegations buy from and fund these corporations to advance military powers worldwide.
“CANSEC is the hub where genocide is manufactured, and genocide is really planned for. It becomes the place where these ideas of how to kill more people are debated and imagined by these weapons and arms companies and their associates.”
Community members, activists and organizers are mobilizing against this “marketplace of mass death” under a coalition campaign of Shut Down CANSEC to demand an end to the trade show. Organizers say that this is a crucial moment for the public to get involved and reject human rights abuses that states and corporations are engaged in.
“It’s a very specific, tangible opportunity for people in Ottawa to act with their conscience, to be physically present, to say no to the harm that’s inflicted on people and communities around the world, that really starts at a convention centre in Ottawa,” underlined Brent Patterson from the Peace Brigades International (PBI) Canada.
While there is strong public opposition to CANSEC, many residents are not aware of it, especially as it takes place on the outskirts of Ottawa. “A lot of people don’t want their city or their government to be complicit in genocide, but they just don’t know about it,” explained Jenna, a member of the Shut Down CANSEC steering committee, under a pseudonym, in an interview with The Leveller.
Organizers from the Shut Down CANSEC group are talking to community members in public spaces such as parks to educate and mobilize them to build a bigger and more sustainable movement against the global arms industry.
“We have a huge responsibility to come out and say no to this industry, to say that we demand a better future, and that we can have a better future if we all confront this,” emphasized Jenna.
Faith communities will be holding a vigil in the afternoon of May 27, while there will be a mass mobilization and protest in the morning of May 28.
The War Profiteers are Back in Town
CANSEC will feature the most profitable arms companies in the world, such as Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation), Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and General Dynamics. These companies are directly responsible for genocide, war crimes, and human rights violations globally.
Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defence contractor, supplies Israel with F-35 fighter jets to carry out its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The parts that make these warplanes function will also be showcased at CANSEC, as Gastops, the company that develops the engine sensors for the F-35s, is based right here in Ottawa.
The impact of the companies invited to Ottawa is deadly. Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, supplies its military with missiles, bombs, drones, gun systems, ammunition, and artillery shells. BAE Systems designs and manufactures the technologies that are integrated into Israeli fighter jets, drones and warships. General Dynamics provides the Israeli military with a wide variety of weapons, including 2,000-pound bombs that have been used to destroy virtually all infrastructure in Gaza.
“CANSEC is the hub where genocide is manufactured, and genocide is really planned for,” said Jenna. “It becomes the place where these ideas of how to kill more people are debated and imagined by these weapons and arms companies and their associates.”
“This is the place where they all get together and plot and imagine how else they can develop further technologies to help them achieve their goal of further exploitation and colonial violence,” Jenna continued. “CANSEC is the knot that tightens how imperialism functions through these military weapons and technology industries.”
The scope of the weapons and equipment showcased at CANSEC is not limited to Israel’s brutal and ongoing assault on Palestinians. For example, these weapons have been used extensively in the militarization of the US-Mexico Border. Elbit Systems has supplied electronic detection systems and surveillance technologies to uphold Israel’s apartheid system. These products, which have been “field-tested” on Palestinians, are subsequently supplied to the United States to detect and arrest migrants and refugees.
Similarly, RTX and Northrop Grumman not only actively enable war crimes in Palestine through the supply of weapons to Israel, but they also provide extensive technologies and equipment to monitor and detain people on the move, particularly at the US-Mexico Border. Canadian companies are also directly complicit, as Brampton-based Roshel Defence Solutions supplies armoured vehicles that are used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and deport migrants.
“It’s straightforward to recognize the violations committed by these corporations against people, yet they’re welcomed by the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa,” Patterson told The Leveller. “There’s an impunity to the violence that they commit.”
Human Rights Records Ignored
Some of the 60+ international delegations that will be attending CANSEC this year, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Philippines, are responsible for significant human rights violations.
Israel will once again be present at CANSEC, despite a United Nations Commission concluding that it has committed genocide in Gaza. Canada has a legal responsibility to stop arms exports to Israel and avoid complicity in genocide. Yet, it still sent over $18.9 million in arms to Israel in 2024, including shipments of weapons and parts. Notably, Canadian weapons, such as F-35 parts that reach Israel indirectly through the United States, are not tracked. The No More Loopholes Act attempted to close this gap but was defeated in Parliament in March.
“The priorities of the government are not just for its people. It’s focused on the military. What Carney is doing is he’s digging himself deeper into this imperial global world order.”
Saudi Arabia was the top non-United States destination for Canadian arms exports in 2024, receiving nearly $1.3 billion in military goods, primarily Light-Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) and associated components manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada. These Canadian-made LAVs have been used by the Saudi-led coalition, which has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians since 2015.
Amongst the international delegations at CANSEC this year is the UAE, which has been directly responsible for funding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and fuelling the genocide in Sudan. Yet Canada exported over $7 million in military goods to the UAE in 2024, and in November, the CBC reported that weapons with the logo of Sterling Cross Defense Systems, an Abbotsford, B.C.-based company that produces firearms and ammunition, were in the hands of RSF fighters.
In late April, at least 19 people were killed, and hundreds were displaced as the Philippines Armed Forces launched an attack in Toboso, Negros Occidental. Amongst the casualties were Filipino student leaders, journalists, and human rights activists. In November, Canada signed a defence pact with the Philippines to enable joint and multinational military operations and exercises in both countries, despite significant human rights concerns well before this incident.
“Countries are there to buy these weapons components and technology regardless of their human rights record, and so, there is the issue in terms of profiting from war, repression, and violence,” said Patterson. “There is an absolute lack of scrutiny in terms of the sale and export of this equipment, and the lack of transparency and public accountability in terms of how it operates.”
The United Kingdom publishes the list of countries invited to its equivalent arms show. This does not happen in Canada due to fears of public opposition. “There are communities whose own family members have experienced violence at the hands of these countries and companies,” stated Patterson.
Canada has a legal responsibility to ensure weapons that are exported are not used to commit human rights violations as a State Party to the Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates international trade in conventional weapons.
Ottawa’s Long History of CANSEC Opposition
CANSEC’s history can be traced back over four decades. ARMX, a biennial government-run military trade show, was first held in St. Hubert, Quebec, in 1983. Fears of public opposition led the government to privatize it in 1987. In 1989, the City of Ottawa banned ARMX from city property due to human rights concerns and grassroots activist pressure.
ARMX was postponed in 1991 due to the US invasion of Iraq during the Gulf War, but was rebranded as “Peacekeeping 93” two years later, receiving pushback from community members. ARMX was then moved to the United States, but it returned to the capital in 1998 as CANSEC. Starting in 2009, CANSEC was hosted at Lansdowne Park and later shifted to the EY Centre near the airport, where it has been held annually, except in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 regulations.
Last year’s CANSEC saw a significant police presence to counter protestors who were mobilizing against genocide and warmongering. Police officers brutalized and arrested the protestors by choking individuals, shoving them into the crowd, and even pressing one individual against the concrete ground. Some faced medical injuries and required hospitalization due to escalation and violence by the police. A total of thirteen people were arrested last year, including an independent journalist and a medic.
Building a Militarist Economy
Prime Minister Mark Carney has prioritized military spending as a central pillar of Canada’s economic strategy. While nearly every federal department was forced to make cuts, the government pledged to invest nearly $82 billion in “defence” spending in the last budget. Carney’s pledge to increase military spending to 5% of the GDP by 2035 would also mean expanding Canada’s “defence” budget from $63 billion in 2025 to $150 billion every year.
“Billions and billions of additional dollars going into military spending is a reflection of the militarist agenda,” said Patterson.
While this is good news for the war profiteers coming to CANSEC, Canadians should be concerned about this trajectory, organizers say.
“After watching a full-on genocide in Palestine, instead of rethinking what these weapons and arms technologies are doing, we are going ahead and investing more. It should sound the alarm for everybody,” warned Jenna.
These resources, she explained, could be redirected to fund public and social services. While everyday people are struggling with cuts to OSAP and the educational sector, the cost-of-living crisis, and access to housing and healthcare, the government is prioritizing military spending.
“The priorities of the government are not just for its people. It’s focused on the military. What Carney is doing is he’s digging himself deeper into this imperial global world order,” said Jenna.
The global arms industry has never been more profitable. In 2024, the revenues of the world’s 100 largest arms-producing companies reached a record level of $679 billion. New arms contracts are expected to be signed at CANSEC, as 96% of the trade show’s attendees have purchasing power, according to its website.
Community members are encouraged to follow the Shut Down CANSEC group. The faith community-led vigil will be held outside of the trade show at the EY Centre starting at 4:30 pm on May 27, and protests on May 28 start at 7 am to reject the militarist agenda, the global arms industry, and mass killing.
