As NATO’s turns its focus to strengthening its Northern Flank including preparedness for cold weather operations and the cold weather innovations to do so, could Canada's path to being strong on defence and the economy be innovating out of the Arctic?

We spoke with Glenn Cowan, CEO, One9; Kevin Reed, President and COO, Defence, Security & Resilience Bank; Dr. Jackie Dawson, University of Ottawa /Researcher in Residence, Office of the Chief Science Advisor, Government of Canada; and Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, Partner, NATO Innovation Fund to find out.

On the heels of the NATO’s June Summit, Arctic360’s ‘Breaking the Ice’ summer podcast series launches with a discussion on NATO, Europe, and collaboration with Canada on Arctic Defence and Security.

Co-hosts Jessica Shadian, President & CEO of Arctic360, Sofie Poggendorf, and Alexandra Paul were fortunate and grateful to be joined by the EU Ambassador to Canada, Geneviève Tuts; German Ambassador to Canada Matthias Lüttenberg; and UK High Commissioner to Canada, Robert Tinline.

Welcome back to Breaking the Ice!

As we do each summer, we’re bringing together the brightest minds from the North, working in the North, or on the North, from across the circumpolar world and beyond. Our theme for 2025, “The Summer of Arctic Security, Infrastructure & Innovation,” gives us the extraordinary opportunity to Discuss both the issues we know best and the big issues on the table when it comes to Canada’s North and the Arctic region at large.

🎙️This year’s co-hosts are:

Jaiden Stevens – Carleton University Journalism student from Norman Wells, specializing in Northern storytelling, media, and community voices

Asma Awan – Munk School MGA student and civil servant with expertise in policy innovation

Mishal Khan – Munk School MGA candidate with experience in global development and SDGs

Alexandra Paul – Master of International Security (Sciences Po Paris), specializing in global risk analysis and environment and sustainability

Sofie Poggendorf – Dual MGA candidate (Hertie & Munk), with a background in climate and Indigenous community research

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