Three Months of The Canadian Explorers
Fourteen conversations with the people building Canada’s future
Over the past three months, I have published 16 posts. Fourteen were conversations with founders, investors, and operators building in Canada’s national interest. Over that period, The Canadian Explorers’ subscriber base grew by more than 230%. I wanted to take a moment to highlight these Canadians in one post.
The Canadian Explorers is delivering and consolidating the voices of the founders shaping Canada. This is only the beginning.
To partner with The Canadian Explorers, contact: contact@ethanmarcoux.com
May 6th, 2026 — Paul Ziadé, CEO & Founder of North Vector Dynamics (Podcast)
North Vector Dynamics is building precision, low-cost missiles to protect Canadian and allied skies. In Chapter One of Canadian Explorers, I sat down with Paul Ziadé to discuss developing a Canadian neo-prime, sovereign capability, startups, and what it means for Canada to start building again.
June 3rd, 2026 — Samuel Witherspoon, CEO and Founder of ANVIL (Article Spotlight)
Sam Witherspoon was building ANVIL a decade before defence was ‘cool.’ In the first Explorer Spotlight, I speak to Samuel Witherspoon at CANSEC about his experience building a sovereign defence company for over a decade, bureaucracy, procurement, and speed.
June 12th, 2026 — Karl Holmqvist, CEO and Founder of Lastwall (Article Spotlight)
Lastwall was StrongNorth’s first cybersecurity investment. In the second Explorer Spotlight, I spoke with Karl Holmqvist at CANSEC about cybersecurity and the opportunity to build from Canada.
June 17th, 2026 — Glenn Cowan, Founder and Managing Partner of ONE9 (Article Spotlight)
Glenn Cowan is a former JTF 2 Squadron Commander in Canada’s special forces and the founder of Canada’s first national security venture capital firm. We discuss customer discovery, domain expertise, founder traits, and thinking big.
June 25th, 2026 — Parth Mahendru, Founder and CEO of Prandtl Dynamics (Article Spotlight)
Prandtl Dynamics placed second in two Department of National Defence Counter-UAS Sandboxes, earning $750,000 in total prize money. Its acoustic technology can detect drones before they are powered on. We discussed acoustic counter-UAS technology, manufacturability, and what it takes to build a national-interest company in Canada.
June 29th, 2026 — Alain Cohen, CEO of Marconi Technologies (Interview)
Marconi Technologies became the first Canadian company to win business supported through SAFE. I spoke with CEO Alain Cohen about what this means for Canadian defence exports and how Marconi plans to work with Canadian startups and SMBs.
July 2nd, 2026 — Dr. Mike Peasgood, Founder and CEO of ENVGO (Article Spotlight)
ENVGO is building six-foot autonomous surface vessels designed to travel four times farther than conventional electric boats. I spoke with Mike Peasgood about building a new class of defence vessels, transferring aerial autonomy to the water, and what Canadian founders need to understand before entering defence.
July 9th, 2026 — Dr. Harvey Hawes, Founder and CEO of Building Bloc Systems (Article Spotlight)
Building Bloc Systems is building forward-deployed medical microfactories for war zones, disaster response, and remote environments. I spoke with Hawes about rebuilding medical supply chains, designing a company for both defence and civilian healthcare, and manufacturing what patients need where they need it.
July 10th, 2026 — Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify (Interview)
Shopify President Harley Finkelstein backed ONE9’s defence-focused fund in 2022, when few Canadian investors wanted anything to do with the sector. We discussed what Canadian founders need to do differently, why they should look beyond local capital, how to reverse Canada’s brain drain, and why Harley believes the country is entering a new era of entrepreneurship.
July 14th, 2026 — Samuel Witherspoon, CEO & Founder of ANVIL (Podcast)
ANVIL is an Ottawa-based, 100% Canadian-owned defence technology company. Its platform links intelligence, operations, and planning. In Chapter Two of Canadian Explorers, I sat down with Samuel Witherspoon to discuss persistence, national security, and the decade-long path to building ANVIL.
July 16th, 2026 — Brandon Robinson, Founder and CEO of Horizon Aircraft (Article Spotlight)
Horizon Aircraft is building a hybrid-electric VTOL designed to take off like a helicopter and fly like a conventional aircraft. I spoke with Brandon Robinson about building a Canadian aerospace company, what capabilities the Cavorite X7 unlocks, private vs public capital, and the advantages of gliding.
July 21st, 2026 — Matthew Lombardi, Founder of the Icebreaker and Director at ONE9 (Interview)
Matthew Lombardi is the co-founder of The Icebreaker, Canada’s defence innovation network and newsletter, and a director at Canada’s first national security venture capital firm. I met with Lombardi to discuss what early-stage defence founders need to prove, Canada’s procurement problem, and whether more companies can reach Dominion Dynamics’ scale.
July 23rd, 2026 — Kath Intson, Founder and CEO of Sentinel R&D (Article Spotlight)
Sentinel R&D is automating the manufacturing of unmanned systems for the next generation of warfare. I met with Kath to discuss what Sentinel is building, why Canada and its allies need it, and what it takes to overwhelm adversaries with scale.
July 30th, 2026 — Alex Deslauriers, Founder and CEO of FireSwarm Solutions (Article Spotlight)
FireSwarm builds drone-agnostic autonomy for ultra-heavy-lift aircraft to fight wildfires and move critical loads through contested environments. I spoke with Deslauriers about the loss of his family’s properties, what the company is building, his perspective on the Canadian landscape, and how drones can fit alongside traditional aircraft systems.
Next Up:
NordSpace: Founder and CEO, Rahul Goel
Wyvern Space: Founder and CEO, Chris Robson
Dominion Dynamics: Founder and CEO, Eliot Pence
CSMC: Founder and CEO, Daniel Sax
Canada Rocket Company: Founder and CEO, Hugh Kolias
and more…
Contact me: contact@ethanmarcoux.com
