International defence companies gathered in Halifax this week for one of Canada’s largest security conventions.
The event, DEFSEC Atlantic, is held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and serves as a meeting point for defence industry representatives, military officials, and government buyers.
Among the announcements at the convention, AtkinsRéalis and DRAKKAR signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 7, 2026, to explore strategic collaboration in support of Canadian defence programs. The MoU was signed at the Québec Pavilion in the presence of Investissement Québec.
Both companies are Montreal-headquartered. AtkinsRéalis is an engineering services and nuclear company with global operations, while DRAKKAR is a Canadian aerospace and industrial services firm. The collaboration will explore opportunities across air, land, and maritime domains, including acquisition, modernization, mobilization, in-service support, and long-term sustainment of complex defence platforms.
“AtkinsRéalis and DRAKKAR bring together complementary Canadian capabilities to support defence programs from acquisition and modernization through long-term sustainment,” said Stéphanie Vaillancourt, president, Canada, AtkinsRéalis. “By combining our engineering, systems integration, program management, operations and maintenance, and asset management expertise with DRAKKAR’s capabilities in aerospace maintenance, logistics and manufacturing services, we can help strengthen Canada’s defence capacity, supply-chain resilience and long-term operational readiness.”
Benoit Hudon, president and CEO of the DRAKKAR Group, said: “Building strong partnerships with established Canadian companies that already have the capabilities, infrastructure and workforce in place is essential to strengthening Canada’s defence industrial capacity. By combining complementary expertise such as AtkinsRéalis’ and DRAKKAR Group’s existing Canadian footprints, we can accelerate defence readiness, deliver greater value to government and contribute meaningfully to Canada’s sovereignty objectives.”
AtkinsRéalis has been a top-five supplier of Defence Construction Canada over the last five years and previously provided operations and maintenance services for the Royal Canadian Navy’s minor warships and auxiliary vessels. DRAKKAR operates aircraft maintenance facilities in Mirabel, Quebec, and provides third-party logistics and manufacturing services across North America.
Sources: Global News Canada · Canadian Army Today