On March 5, Parliament Hill became a gathering place for women leaders at a defining moment for global stability and economic change.

International Women’s Day on the Hill 2026, presented by Elevate International, brought together voices from across government, industry and Canada’s innovation ecosystem for a conversation on inclusive leadership, economic power and resilience.

Under the theme of Lead Change, the annual event brought together women leaders, policymakers, executives and community builders for a day of discussion focused on fostering and ensuring inclusive leadership, economic empowerment, the importance of executive champions and philanthropy in action.

Across each session, speakers shared stories of their path to leadership, and a consistent theme emerged: advancing women in leadership is not only a matter of equity, but it’s a driver of economic strength, institutional resilience and long-term national prosperity and security.

And it’s more than just making a space at the decision table – it’s about making the table bigger to save a space for an inclusive array of voices and ensuring that the goal is not to be the first woman in the room, but to ensure that a space is made so other women can follow.

Inclusive Leadership in a Defining Moment

The morning opened with a welcome from Elevate International Founder, President and CEO Solange Tuyishime, who shared she founded the event on Parliament Hill with nothing more than an idea that something could be done to advance women’s leadership.

‘You know when a woman is on a mission? You figure it out,” she explained. “Next year, we will be celebrating 10 years in this room, where we’ve united some of the most incredible leaders who are committed to advancing inclusivity and advancing women’s leadership”.

“I wholeheartedly believe that advancing women’s leadership equates to how we make the world a better place,” she added, “Because when half of the population is not at your leadership table,” she added, you’re not serving people the right way.”

Women Leading in Defence: Security, Sovereignty and Leadership in a Fractured World

From the shared emotional experiences of keynote speeches, the conversation shifted to an important and timely discussion titled Women Leading in Defence: Security, Sovereignty and Leadership in a Fractured World.

The panel featured senior leaders from Canada’s semiconductor, defence, procurement and space sectors, including:

• Melissa Chee, Tech CEO, Independent Board Director and former President and CEO of VentureLAB
• Cara Cosgrove, Deputy CFO, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and former Executive Director, Military Personnel Command, Department of National Defence
• Paula Folkes, Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence and Marine Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada
• Amy MacLeod, Vice President of Corporate Communications, MDA Space
• Rebecca Thompson, Market Director for Defence and Security, Area X.O

Designed as a candid and forward-looking conversation, the panel set out to explore how women are shaping the future of defence, security and sovereignty at a critical moment when these issues carry renewed urgency.

The discussion reinforced that in the current state of geopolitical rupture and accelerating change, women’s leadership is not only overdue in the defence sector – it is essential to building a sovereign, innovative and resilient Canada.

“The question is not whether Canada will invest in defence innovation,” Sonya Shorey, President and CEO of Invest Ottawa, said in her introduction of the panel, “the question is whether we will organize ourselves fast enough, and strategically enough to lead.”

Shorey felt that including women in the decision-making process could make the difference needed for the country to act quickly.

“If women are not at the decision-making table at this moment in time, shaping capital allocation, procurement, innovation and strategy – then Canada will not move fast enough.”

For companies looking to accelerate defence innovations, Rebecca Thompson, Market Director for Defence and Security at Area X.O, highlighted the importance of research and development facilities such as Area X.O, which support emerging technologies, including autonomous systems, drones, and advanced robotics.

Thompson said the focus over the past seven years has been building an environment where companies can test, validate, trial and scale technology to help them “move from that demonstration concept validation straight through to commercialization.”

But as Thompson explained, shifting from autonomous systems and emerging technologies to meet growing demand in defence requires agile leadership and streamlined systems that “get companies what they need quickly,” helping national defence partners move at pace and ultimately “bring those innovations into real-world environments.”

For Paula Folkes, Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence and Marine Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada, the need to act decisively and quickly is where leadership from women can shine.

“Women are well poised in this moment, because we are risk takers,” she said. “We take risks every day, and we know that some of them will pay off, some of them won’t, and our resilience in this moment makes us poised to use the new tools we have.”

She added that meaningful change requires leaders who are ready to “start using those new tools that we have to actually change and transform how we keep our country safe.”

From industrial strategy and procurement reform to semiconductors, space infrastructure and next-generation defence platforms, the conversation underscored the breadth of women’s leadership across Canada’s defence ecosystem – and how collaboration within the Ottawa-Gatineau region and beyond can bring innovation to real-world scenarios.

Executive Champions and Allies in Action

Throughout the day, leaders shared practical insights on advancing women into senior roles, strengthening mentorship pathways and aligning institutional strategy with inclusive growth.

For Invest Ottawa and Area X.O, participation in International Women’s Day on the Hill reflects a broader commitment to advancing women leaders, while positioning Ottawa-Gatineau as a global hub for defence innovation, dual-use technologies and sovereign capability.

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• Invest Ottawa begins its International Women’s Month celebrations with its flagship event, The F Factor: Fuelling Women Founders, Monday, March 9^th at Bayview Yards.
• Join the mission: Discover more about the Defence Innovation Hub Strategy at dihub.ca.