Special Edition: Buy Canadian Conference Launch

After a sold-out inaugural year, national procurement summit expands with new Defence and Sovereign Technology tracks

The rules changed this year. On June 15 the federal Buy Canadian threshold dropped from $25M to $5M. The $2B Sovereign AI Compute Strategy is in market. Defence spending is climbing. For once, policy moved in Canadian entrepreneurs’ favour.

Now the hard part: execution. Canadian defence and security startups build world-class tech and still can’t survive our own procurement gauntlet. Canada doesn’t have an innovation problem. It has a buying problem.

That’s why The Icebreaker is helping launch the Defence Track at Source Canada 2026 — Raymond Luk’s national procurement summit, back at the Hilton Toronto on October 22 after a sold-out first year.

This one isn’t a conference. It’s a domestic trade mission. Pre-vetted buyers matched to Canadian companies, 1:1 meetings running all day, and briefing rooms with the people who actually sign the contracts. Last year: 250 attendees, roughly 70 corporate buyers, and more than 100 private buyer-seller meetings in a single day.

The Defence Track puts Canadian-owned and Canadian-controlled defence and dual-use companies in the room with government buyers, corporate buyers, and capital. The Sovereign Technology Track covers quantum, AI, cybersecurity and deeptech.

Use code ICBRKR-SC26 for 20% off any pass (capped at the first 100 passes).

Early Bird pricing runs through August 22, and space is limited. The first year sold out and 2026 caps at 350–400 people.

Grab your pass at sourcecan.ca