Canada sends 500 delegates to MSPO 2026 to expand defence partnership with Poland.

Canada is sending over 250 organizations and 500 delegates to Kielce as the designated Lead Nation for the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2026) from September 8–11. The mission focuses on securing bilateral military contracts and industrial integration under the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, where Canada holds unique non-EU status, allowing up to 80% contract value participation. Key initiatives span artillery energetics, synthetic aviation simulators, tactical satellite communications, and joint ammunition manufacturing capacity.

Canada’s defense mission to MSPO 2026 leverages bilateral agreements to integrate Canadian firms into Poland’s €43.7 billion EU SAFE procurement allocation and ongoing military rearmament. Primary operational domains encompass Nitro-Chem energetic supply chains, CAE flight simulation systems, L3Harris WESCAM sensor manufacturing, and Marconi Technologies tactical radio integration for Poland’s Cyber Command.

Related topic: Poland’s MSPO 2025 Becomes Key International Defence Industry Exhibition for Global Security

Canada will send over 250 organizations and 500 delegates to Kielce, as the designated Lead Nation for the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2026) from September 8–11. (Picture source: Targi Kielce)

As reported by Defence 24 on September 3, 2026, Canada is preparing its largest defence-industry mission to Poland as Lead Nation at MSPO in Kielce on September 8-11, with participation now reaching more than 250 Canadian organizations and 500 delegates, compared with the 170 companies initially announced in June. More than 90 Canadian exhibitors are expected inside the national pavilion, while September 9 will concentrate the government and industry agenda into a Canada-Ukraine Defence Industry Cooperation session and a Canada-Poland Lead Nation Conference. The political groundwork was established when the Canada-Poland High-Level Steering Group held its first meeting in Ottawa on April 21, 2026, and Defence Ministers David McGuinty and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz signed a Letter of Intent on May 26 covering SAFE participation, emerging military technologies and the possibility of establishing additional ammunition production capacity in Canada. Poland also became a Spotlight Partner at CANSEC 2026 in Ottawa.

The largest procurement mechanism available to Canadian companies is Poland's €43.7341 billion allocation under the EU's €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program. Canada is the first non-European country admitted under enhanced SAFE terms, allowing Canadian content to account for as much as 80% of contract value instead of the standard 35% ceiling applicable to third-country components. For Canadian suppliers, this matters because Polish requirements financed through SAFE extend beyond Warsaw's ordinary defence budget and include artillery, ammunition, air and missile defence, udrones, counter-UAS systems, military mobility, critical infrastructure protection and emerging technologies. The first identified Canadian SAFE-linked contract is the Marconi Technologies-Enamor International agreement for ORION X650 radios for Poland's Cyber Command. Marconi is also working with Enamor and PGZ-owned OBR CTM on tactical communications, maritime security and situational awareness systems.

Ammunition is the clearest case where the relationship already reaches into production. PGZ subsidiary Nitro-Chem supplies TNT used in Canadian ammunition manufacturing, meaning Polish energetic material is already entering the Canadian munitions chain before any new MSPO agreement is signed. Canada currently sources only about 30% of the ammunition used by the Canadian Armed Forces domestically through its Munitions Supply Program and plans more than C$9 billion over 20 years for strategic stocks and surge capacity. A further C$1.4 billion announced on March 18, 2026, covers expanded domestic production of projectile bodies, load-assemble-pack activities and modular artillery charges. Poland is expanding from the opposite direction: Polish procurement from domestic and Central European suppliers has reached PLN 30.4 billion since 2022, while Warsaw is increasing local production to reduce dependence on distant wartime supply chains.

Canadian companies also have permanent facilities and personnel in Poland. CAE employs more than 300 people in the country in military aviation training and simulation, including full-mission simulators, synthetic training environments, courseware and instructor support. The addressable Polish market is expanding because Warsaw is introducing 32 F-35A fighters, 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft, 96 AH-64E attack helicopters and 32 AW149 helicopters while continuing to operate 48 F-16C/Ds, creating separate conversion, recurrent training, simulator software and maintenance training requirements for five major aviation fleets. L3Harris WESCAM has also opened a Katowice facility to handle the majority of MX-series orders for Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 2027, making Poland a regional support and export node for stabilized EO/IR sensors used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target identification and targeting. Galvion provides the reverse flow: combat helmets manufactured in Gdańsk are used by Poland's GROM special operations unit and are also supplied under Canada's Dismounted Infantry Capability Enhancement program.

Canada's own rearmament program gives Polish companies a market measured in hundreds of billions of Canadian dollars. Ottawa's 2026 Defence Industrial Strategy identifies C$180 billion in procurement opportunities and C$290 billion in defence and security capital investment over ten years, while setting targets to raise the Canadian share of national defence acquisitions to 70%, increase defence exports by 50% and expand defence industry revenue by 240%. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said roughly 70 cents of every Canadian defence capital dollar currently goes to the United States, giving Ottawa a direct incentive to diversify suppliers while moving more production, intellectual property and sustainment activity into Canada. One current example is the nearly C$2 billion announced on July 16, 2026, for 190 additional Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs), which adds four years of production demand for General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada.

The Canadian offer at MSPO also includes capabilities tied directly to Poland's current force expansion. Top Aces provides contracted adversary-air and advanced fighter training, a service Poland could use for F-16 and F-35 continuation training without assigning combat-coded fighters to act as aggressors and consuming their flight hours, fuel, maintenance manpower, and structural life. Bombardier's Global business jets provide the airframe basis for special-mission aircraft such as Saab's GlobalEye airborne early warning system. OSI Maritime Systems supplies naval navigation and mission-management technology combining WECDIS navigation, C4ISR functions, common operational pictures, mission planning, video feeds, data links and unmanned-vehicle control. Calian is presenting live, virtual and constructive training, low-SWaP GNSS technology with anti-jamming features and secure satellite communications, while Kraken Robotics contributes subsea sensing and maritime systems and Telesat adds satellite communications.

The operational relationship also creates practical demand for interoperability. Canada launched Operation REASSURANCE in 2014, with its first task force under the mission deployed to Poland, and the operation has since become the Canadian Armed Forces' largest expeditionary commitment. Canada now serves as framework nation for NATO's multinational brigade in Latvia, while Poland contributes a mechanized infantry company, specialist subunits and headquarters personnel, requiring both forces to operate through compatible communications, logistics, command-and-control and sustainment procedures. Ottawa and Warsaw are also renewing their 2023 bilateral defence memorandum and action plan, which cover more than 50 areas of military activity, while Poland plans to deploy nearly 100 personnel to Canada's Operation NANOOK exercise in 2027.

The commercial objective ultimately extends beyond contracts signed by Ottawa or Warsaw. Canada-Poland merchandise trade increased 33% in 2025, the highest growth rate among Poland's 50 largest trading partners, with Poland maintaining a bilateral surplus that already includes aerospace and defence activity. The Canadian Commercial Corporation can act as prime contractor for government-to-government transactions and provide Canadian government-backed performance assurance, while Export Development Canada can supply loans, guarantees and export credit and plans to establish a presence in Poland. Ukraine, the Baltic states, wider Europe and the Middle East are potential third-country markets for equipment assembled from Canadian and Polish subsystems. The measurable outcome of MSPO 2026 could therefore be the number and value of SAFE-funded awards, ammunition production agreements, defense contracts, Canadian investment in Polish facilities, Polish participation in Canadian programs and third-country export deals generated after the exhibition.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.