A community listing organized by Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (University of Calgary) and the Canadian Maritime Security Network
Calgary Salutes

Canadian Seapower 2026: Conflict and Readiness

A two-day conference at the University of Calgary on the Royal Canadian Navy's and Canadian Coast Guard's readiness for conflict, with senior serving officers, retired admirals, academics and industry. Hosted by UCalgary's Centre for…

Event media

Date
Thursday, October 15, 2026
07:30 – 17:15 MDT
Venue
MacEwan Ballroom, MacEwan Student Centre (MacHall), University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

Event details

Canadian Seapower 2026: Conflict and Readiness is the second Canadian Seapower conference, hosted by the University of Calgary's Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS) and the Canadian Maritime Security Network (CMSN) as part of the CMSS Power Series.

Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16, 2026
MacEwan Ballroom, MacEwan Student Centre (MacHall), University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary
Day one: registration and coffee from 7:30 a.m., program to about 4:50 p.m. Day two: doors and coffee at 7:45 a.m., program to about 5:15 p.m. (times from the organizer's draft program; the registration page lists 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

Global maritime competition has accelerated, traditional maritime norms are eroding, and hybrid threats are proliferating. The conference brings together serving officers, policymakers and academics to assess the Navy's readiness for conflict and the critical decisions ahead on force structure, equipment, recruitment and operational doctrine.

Program highlights (draft, subject to change):

  • Opening keynotes by RAdm Jason Armstrong, Chief of Naval Capabilities, and Neil O'Rourke, Director General, Canadian Coast Guard
  • "Introducing Canada's New Naval Strategy" with Capt(N) Rob Watt, Director of Naval Strategy
  • RAdm David Patchell, Commander Maritime Forces Pacific
  • Day two opening by RAdm Christopher Robinson, Deputy Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
  • Panels on warfighting, submarines, new global threat dynamics, autonomous futures, procurement, shipbuilding, future technologies and Arctic security, with speakers including VAdm (Ret'd) Mark Norman, RAdm (Ret'd) Brian Santarpia, Dr. Dave Perry, Richard Gimblett, Dr. Marc Lanteigne and representatives of Seaspan, Davie and Lockheed Martin
  • Banquet dinner on October 15 at 7:00 p.m. with a dinner talk by Dr. Marc Milner (separate ticket)

Registration is through Cvent, with registration types for Canadian Armed Forces (active or retired), Government of Canada employees, Naval Association of Canada members, regular attendees and students. The registration page says registration closes October 7 at 4:00 p.m. and that cancellations are refunded up to one day before the conference (transaction fees are non-refundable). Questions: cmss@ucalgary.ca.

This is a community listing. The conference is organized by the University of Calgary's Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies and the Canadian Maritime Security Network; please confirm details with the organizer.

Last updated October 7, 2026 · Calgary Salutes Coordinating Committee