The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) organized a presence outside the CANSEC arms show on Wednesday May 27, 2026, in Ottawa.
They also organized a Potluck meal at the Ottawa Meeting House on the evening of Tuesday May 26, the day before the Witness that started at 8:00 am and a Peaceful Faithful Gathering that started at 4:30 pm outside the Cohere Centre.
The CANSEC arms show is an annual event that brings together 60+ international delegations and 300+ companies in a venue with 20,000 attendees to exhibit, market, buy and sell weapons and emerging military technologies.
Potluck, May 26 starting at 6:00 pm.
Quakers were also present at the mass mobilization that drew hundreds of people to the Cohere Centre on the morning of Thursday May 28 starting at 7:00 am.
In the lead-up to CANSEC this year, the Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC-Quakers) also organized two webinars in collaboration with Peace Brigades International-Canada to draw attention to the urgency of peace.
The first webinar, held on February 11, 2026, included presentations explaining Canada’s involvement in the arms trade and the impacts this has on other countries. It included Kelsey Gallagher from the Waterloo, Ontario-based Project Ploughshares speaking about the No More Loopholes Act.
The second webinar, held on April 16, 2026, included information on how Quakers in the United Kingdom have nonviolently protested Britain’s biggest arms fair DESI, and a discussion of how Canadians can do the same for CANSEC.
