Hi CEOs,

Earlier this summer, CCI gathered a group of CEOs for dinner inside the art gallery at the Muir Hotel in Halifax. On the walls around us was an exhibition called Contemplating Geography, exploring the relationship between people and the landscapes they inhabit.

The three artists approached that relationship from very different perspectives. Peter Di Gesu painted the meeting point of sky and land, leaving the geography deliberately ambiguous. Frances Dorsey examined the terrain at much closer range, weaving the layers of earth, rock and plants found along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Nadira Narine explored the cultural side of geography through objects carrying memories of her Panamanian roots.

As we sat down for dinner, CEOs shared stories of scaling their businesses across very different terrains, all within the same province and country. That conversation helped inspire this summer’s Field Notes series: an exploration of how Canadian companies are shaped by the local terroir of the cities and innovation hubs they call home.

It also reinforced something I’ve long believed: Canada is too large and too varied to understand from a single vantage point. So you have to get out and meet the people making and shaping this country.

Spend time in their coffee shops, restaurants and hotel lobbies. Learn what building across time zones feels like in Vancouver; how quickly priorities can shift in Ottawa; how Waterloo rewards pathfinding through terrain shaped by generations before you; how great companies help shape the neighbourhoods around them in Toronto; how Calgary thinks about durability, ownership and building through cycles; how Montréal's cinq à sept creates its own rhythm for relationships; and how St. John’s can turn geography, distance and specialized expertise into an advantage.

Those details may seem small, but together they change how you understand the larger picture. Perspective comes from presence.

Which brings us back to Halifax. With Canada making generational investments in defence and security, Atlantic Canada has capabilities the rest of the country is suddenly paying much closer attention to. Shipbuilding is the obvious example, but look beyond the ships and you'll find expertise in ocean technology, sensors, acoustics, simulation, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing — including CCI’s newest member from Truro Heights, Ocean Sonics, whose underwater listening technology serves both commercial and defence applications.

For our final stop, CCI's Karen Moores explains why Halifax and Atlantic Canada are entering an important moment as investment turns toward defence and security. We'll also introduce you to some of the entrepreneurs and places worth knowing the next time business brings you east.

Thanks for joining us on this road trip across Canada's innovation hubs. In these final few days of summer, I hope you also get out and rediscover some of the people, places and hidden gems that make your own corner of the country worth building in.

Happy reading,
Patrick

Patrick Searle is the Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national member-based organization reshaping how governments across Canada think about innovation policy, and supporting homegrown scale-ups to drive prosperity. If you are interested in learning more about the Council or joining our cause, get in touch.

ON THE GROUND

Halifax has spent years building the ingredients of a serious dual-use innovation hub: deep expertise in oceans, sensing, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and other technologies with both commercial and military applications. What is changing now is the customer environment around those capabilities. The federal government is trying to close the gap between Canadian innovation and defence procurement, and Halifax is becoming one of the places where that shift is most visible. Canada’s first Maritime Defence Innovation Secure Hub is being established at COVE in Dartmouth with a $29.4-million federal investment, focused on areas including undersea awareness, autonomous systems, advanced sensing and AI-enabled maritime analytics.

That matters because it is happening alongside a major expansion in defence spending. Ottawa is investing $1.2 billion in infrastructure at the Halifax Dockyard and Stadacona, alongside more than $180 million for a new naval Combatant Training and Integration Centre, while 15 River-class destroyers are planned to be built in Halifax over the coming decades. Two hours westward on the Bay of Fundy, $648 million is being invested in Greenwood to support Canada’s future surveillance and remotely piloted aircraft fleets.

For Atlantic Canadian innovators, the opportunity is not simply to participate in defence spending. It is to turn military demand into commercial scale. Technologies in autonomy, sensing, cyber, simulation and ocean systems can serve military and civilian customers alike, but companies need a pathway from testing and demonstration to actual procurement. A Canadian government customer can validate a technology, help unlock private investment and give a company the reference it needs to compete in allied and commercial markets around the world.

Halifax now has an unusual combination: technology strengths that align closely with emerging military needs, major defence institutions nearby and billions of dollars of new demand entering the region. The challenge is to connect those pieces. If Canada gets that right, the coming defence build-up can do more than recapitalize bases and equipment; it can help create stronger Atlantic Canadian companies, deepen Canadian-owned technology and intellectual property, and build lasting industrial capacity in the region.

Karen Moores is the Senior Advisor for Atlantic Canada at the Council of Canadian Innovators. She can be reached at atlantic@canadianinnovators.org and on LinkedIn.

BUILT HERE

Milk Moovement

Moving milk from farms to processors requires coordination among producers, drivers, laboratories, cooperatives and processing facilities. Nova Scotia-based Milk Moovement has built a digital platform that connects those participants through a shared source of real-time information.

Founded in 2018 by Jon King and Rob Forsythe, Milk Moovement replaces paper records, spreadsheets, emails and telephone calls with tools for scheduling routes, tracking shipments, monitoring quality and managing payments. Its mobile platform also allows drivers to record pickups and deliveries as they happen.

Milk Moovement’s platform supports dairy cooperatives across the supply chain, helping them improve coordination, reduce manual administration and make better use of operational data. Its growth shows how Atlantic Canadian technology companies can modernize traditional industries and serve customers beyond the region.

Learn more about Milk Moovement and explore other Nova Scotia-based companies in the CCI Directory.

ONE TO WATCH

Kevin Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of 3DBioFibR

Kevin Sullivan has built his career combining biotechnology commercialization with a background in immunology and microbiology. As Chief Executive Officer of Halifax-based 3DBioFibR, he is leading the development of biopolymer fibres for use in health, defence and advanced manufacturing.

3DBioFibR uses a proprietary dry-spinning process to produce fibres such as collagen that replicate the structure of their natural counterparts. These materials can be used in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, surgical products and other industrial applications.

Under Sullivan’s leadership, the company raised $3 million in 2025 to expand its technology platform and develop the quality-management systems required for medical applications. Its work reflects the role Halifax companies can play in advancing biotechnology research into products with commercial applications.

Learn more about Kevin and other Halifax-based innovators through CCI’s CEO Directory.

SEEN & HEARD

In June, CCI was in Halifax for the Atlantic Venture Forum, using the trip to spend time with member CEOs and local innovators and hear firsthand how companies across Nova Scotia are growing, competing and building from Atlantic Canada.

We started with a CEO roundtable on dual-use technologies hosted by Digital Nova Scotia. That evening, CCI brought local business leaders together for a special innovators dinner at the True Colours Art Gallery in the Muir Hotel, in partnership with Roynat Capital Scotiabank. The conversation focused on what the region’s most ambitious companies need to keep scaling and competing globally.

We also visited the Halifax offices of Bluedrop, where we met with the team and saw more of its work developing training and simulation technologies.

Halifax has a close-knit business community, and you feel it quickly. There is a strong research base, experienced entrepreneurs and a growing technology sector, but also real ambition to build companies that compete far beyond Atlantic Canada. Spending time with those leaders helps CCI understand what is working, where the barriers remain, and bring those experiences directly into our national advocacy.

THE CCI DIRECTORY

Here are a few establishments that you should check out the next time you're in Halifax.

Where to Take an Investor for Coffee
Suda Table in Halifax’s North End is a small, design-forward café serving specialty coffee, house-baked pastries and a rotating menu with Korean influences. For a more central meeting spot, Café Lunette in Queen’s Marque pairs French-inspired pastries and coffee with a polished waterfront setting.

Where to Host a Board Dinner
Tribute on the Halifax waterfront combines Nova Scotia ingredients with live-fire cooking and an open kitchen, and was named one of Canada’s Best New Restaurants for 2026. Water Polo is another strong choice for a larger group, with private dining space and one of the city’s best waterfront patios.

Where to Work Between Meetings
For a window into Halifax’s innovation community, check out Volta, the city’s downtown startup and co-working hub. Halifax Central Library remains an easy alternative, with the new East Cup Café and Roastery and plenty of space to settle in between meetings. Make sure you check out the rooftop!

Where to Gather After the Event
Head underground to Magnolia, a tucked-away downtown cocktail bar with a retro soundtrack and the feel of a neighbourhood secret. If you want something more distinctly Maritime, The Narrows Public House occupies a restored North End house filled with fireplaces, local beer and plenty of Halifax character.

Where to Stay
Muir Hotel remains the pick. Its waterfront location is hard to beat, but the real reason to stay is the hotel itself: architecture inspired by Halifax’s maritime traditions, Canadian-designed interiors and original art throughout.

Thanks for joining us on this summer road trip across Canada's most innovative cities. Don't worry, we'll be back on the road soon enough. Until then, visit past Field Notes directories and dispatches on the CCI website.