Earlier this month we made the case for why simulation and training is one of the most consequential capability questions facing Canada’s armed forces right now. On April 28 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the Canadian defence community will spend a full day working through it.

The Forum’s theme is Training & Simulation: Sovereign Strength or Strategic Vulnerability for Canada? Canada is spending more on defence than it has in a generation, new platforms are arriving across all three services, and the training enterprise is scaling to meet that moment. The question is whether it’s scaling fast enough, and what it takes to get there.

Senior CAF leadership will open the day and set the operational context. From there, the program moves through the full scope of the challenge.

A conversation with junior officers from two services covers what they’re experiencing on the ground and what the new environment demands of them as Canada’s capabilities expand. The broader question of where Army, Navy, and Air Force training enterprises stand today gets its own dedicated panel, with a focus on where things are headed and what needs to happen to get there.

Industry is equally central to the conversation. What does next-generation training actually require from partners? What does “train as you will fight” look like in practice when you have to build the architecture and the doctrine to support it? Canadian companies have a lot to offer on this front.

A learning science keynote makes the case from evidence about how people actually acquire complex skills under pressure, and what AI and adaptive systems are changing about that calculation. An allied officer who has navigated what Canada is now working through will offer a practical perspective on new platform introduction and building synthetic environments that keep pace with operational demands.

An innovation showcase spotlights emerging Canadian companies with capabilities the room may not have encountered yet, and the day closes with a fireside chat on where Canadian industry goes from here. The Defence Industrial Strategy names simulation and training as a sovereign capability area where Canada already leads. The conversation will focus on how to build on that.

CAF and DND personnel, defence industry executives, and procurement professionals. Registration is free for all Canadian Armed Forces and government personnel. For those who can’t make it to Ottawa, all speaker sessions will be live streamed.

Seats are limited. Register at simulationtrainingforum.ca.