Protesters out in force to demonstrate against CANSEC arms show

Anti CANSEC demonstrators were organized by Shut Down CANSEC,demonstrated against Canada's largest weapons show held in Ottawa, May 28, 2026. Photo by Jean Levac/Ottawa Citizen Photo by Jean Levac /Ottawa Citizen

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Around 200 demonstrators were on hand Thursday to protest the CANSEC arms trade show held at the Cohere convention centre in the south end of the city.

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Demonstrators gathered around 7 a.m. in front of the centre, blowing whistles, banging drums and jeering some CANSEC attendees at they entered the conference.

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There were some minor tussles between police and protesters when demonstrators were attempting to block a crosswalk, but the gathering was largely peaceful.

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Protesters carried banners, including one with the names of children killed in Gaza. Other demonstrators held large images of Prime Minister Mark Carney, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Rosie Lucente, a spokesperson for the Shut Down CANSEC campaign, said that it was important to protest “the largest weapons trade show in Canada” and the arms companies that exhibit there.

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“They sell their weapons to Israel, to the Philippine government, to other governments that are carrying out genocide,” Lucente told the Ottawa Citizen. “They fuel dictatorships, and every deal made here at CANSEC is a death sentence to a colonized person, to working people all around the world.”

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“This is their playground. This is their marketplace,” she added.

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Ottawa Police spokesperson Julie Kavanagh said no arrests were made.

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This year’s CANSEC, held May 27 and May 28 at the Uplands Drive venue, and hosted by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), was the largest yet. CADSI spokesperson Monique Scotti said approximately 20,000 delegates registered for CANSEC this year but final numbers of those attending still have to be tallied.

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In 2024 there were 12,678 attendees while in 2025 there were 14,596. This year there were 320 exhibitors as well as 100 delegations from 60 countries, Scotti added.

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In 2025 there were 285 exhibitors while in 2024 there were 265 companies displaying their equipment and military systems at CANSEC.

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Attendance at the trade show is limited to industry, military and government staff.

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The increase in exhibits and attendance was fuelled by Carney’s massive boost in Canada’s defence budget. The Liberal government says it will spend $180 billion on military procurement in the next decade and $290 billion on defence and security-related infrastructure.

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Yipeng Ge, a family doctor and part of an organization called Ottawa Healthcare Professional for Palestine, said he believes CANSEC operates contrary to the practice of health care. “We take care of patients, we think about community well-being, we think about healing,” he explained. “What’s happening behind us at this conference, CANSEC, is the buying and selling of weapons and technologies that fuel an industry of war, terror, and genocide.”