Agenda | 93rd Ottawa Conference | March 5th-6th 2025

Arctic Security | Indo-Pacific | Transatlantic Security Cooperation | Artificial Intelligence | NATO | Space | NORAD | Cyber | Laws of War | Great Power Competition

Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence

Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel (1 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8S7)

Day 1: March 5th, 2025

Time
Session
Details

07:15-8:00

Coffee Meet & Greet and Registration

08:00-08:20

Words of Welcome

  • Dr. Youri Cormier, Executive Director of the Conference of Defence Associations and the CDA Institute
  • LGen (Ret’d) Guy Thibault, President of the Conference of Defence Associations and Chairman of the CDA Institute, Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
  • Mike Hamilton, Chief Distribution Officer, SVP, RBC Insurance

08:25-09:00

Opening Keynote

Moderator:

  • LGen (Ret’d) Guy Thibault, President of the Conference of Defence Associations and Chairman of the CDA Institute, Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff

 

Speaker:

  • The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence

09:00-10:00

Panel 1: The big picture for Canada

Moderator:

  • Trevor Neiman, Vice President & Legal Counsel at Business Council of Canada

 

Speakers:

  • Nathalie G. Drouin, Ad. E., Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister
  • Chief Caroline Xavier, The Chief of Communications Security Establishment (CSE)
  • Daniel Rogers, Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
  • To Be Announced.

10:00-10:30

Health Break

10:30-11:00

Panel 2: Emerging challenges to the Laws of War

Moderator:

  • Brigadier-General Rob Holman, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces

 

Speakers:

  • Professor Chris Jenks, Senior Law of War Advisor, Office of the Judge Advocate General, US Army
  • Laurie Blank, Professor of Law and Director of the International Humanitarian Law Clinic, Emory University
  • Colonel E. Corrie Mack, Principal Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States

11:30-12:30

Panel 3: Where and how to re-engage with Canada’s Defence, Diplomacy, and Development

Moderator:

  • Robert Greenhill, Former Deputy Minister for International Cooperation

 

Speakers:

  • Jacqueline O’Neill, Ambassador for Women Peace and Security 
  • Kate Higgins, Chief Executive Officer, Cooperation Canada
  • To Be Announced.

12:30-14:00

Lunch break

14:00-14:45

Fireside chat with NORTHCOM / NORAD Commander

Moderator:

  • General (Ret’d) Tom Lawson, Former Chief of the Defence Staff

 

Speaker:

  • General Gregory M. Guillot, Commander NORTHCOM / NORAD

14:45-15:50

Panel 4: The Exhilirating Pace and Dangers of AI Weaponization

Moderator:

  • Siegfried Usal, Vice President AI Strategy and Operational Deployment

 

Speaker:

  • Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) John (Jack) N.T. Shanahan, Former Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center
  • Jacqueline Tame, Operating Partner at Playground and the Acting Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group SVDG
  • Dr. Jane Pinelis, Chief AI Engineer at the Applied Information Sciences Branch at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • To Be Announced.

15:50-16:20

Health Break

16:20-17:05

Fireside chat with the Chief of the Defence Staff

Moderator:

  • LGen (Retd) Guy Thibault, President of the Conference of Defence Associations and Chairman of the CDA Institute, Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff

 

Speaker:

  • General M.A. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian ArmedForces

17:05-17:25

Captain Nichola Goddard Leadership Award Ceremony

Laureate:

  • To Be Announced.

 

Presenters:

  • General M.A. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Armed Forces
  • Nichola Goddard Family, represented by Kate Goddard
  • Metro Supply Chain / Exclusive Awards Partner

17:30-20:00

Captain Nichola Goddard Evening Reception

Day 2: March 6th, 2025

Time
Session
Details

07:45-8:30

Morning Coffee & Networking

08:30-09:30

Panel 5: The Northern and Western Flank of NATO: Strategic Implication of this New Paradigm

Moderator:

  • Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Robert A. Davidson

 

Speakers:

  • Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander, Royal Canadian Navy
  • Admiral Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Royal Navy
  • Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, Chief of the German Navy, Ministry of Defence

09:30-10:30

Panel 6: Our North is Strong and Free: Projecting Power in Challenging Spaces

Moderator:

  • Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Chris Ayotte, Former Director General of Canadian Army Force Development

 

Speaker:

  • Lieutenant-General Michael C. Wright, Commander of the Canadian Army 
  • Lieutenant-General Simon Stuart, Australian Chief of the Army

10:30-11:00

Health Break

11:00-12:10

Panel 7: Transatlantic Security

Moderator:

  • To Be Announced.

 

Speakers:

  • Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss, General Director for Peace, Security and Defence at the EU External Action Service
  • Cecilie Juul Stensrud, Acting State Secretary to the Minister of Defence, Norway
  • To Be Announced.

12:10-13:30

Lunch Break

13:30-14:30

Panel 8: Challenges and Readiness in the Indo-Pacific

Moderator:

  • Richard Fadden, Former National Security & Intelligence Advisor

 

Speakers:

  • Vice Amiral Hervé Hamelin, Deputy Chief of Defence for International Relations, Ministère des Armées
  • Mr. Chongdae Won, Acting Deputy Minister for Military Force Policy, Minister of National Defence, South Korea
  • Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
  • To Be Announced.

14:30-15:00

Fireside chat with the Deputy Minister of National Defence

Moderator:

  • Gordon Venner, Vice-Chair of the Board for the CDA Institute; Former Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence

 

Speaker:

  • Stefanie Beck, Deputy Minister of National Defence

15:00-15:30

Closing Keynote

To Be Announced.

15:30

Closing Remarks

  • Dr. Youri Cormier, Executive Director of the Conference of Defence Associations and the CDA Institute

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