ECS Electrical Cable Supply (ECS), one of Canada's largest independently owned wire and cable distributors, will exhibit at Electricity Transformation Canada (ETC) 2026, taking place October 19 to 21 at the Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, in Toronto, Ontario. Attendees can find ECS at Booth #323.
The centrepiece of the ECS booth is an electric formula race car designed and built by Toronto Metropolitan Formula Racing (TMFR), a student engineering team at Toronto Metropolitan University. ECS sponsors the team as part of a broader commitment to youth-led engineering programs: the hands-on, student-run projects where the next generation of electrical talent learns the trade before it ever reaches a job site.
That commitment is practical as much as it is philosophical. Canada's electrification buildout across new generation, storage, transmission, and distribution will be delivered by people who are still in school today. Youth-led programs like TMFR give those students real components, real constraints, and real consequences for getting a termination wrong. ECS backs them because the industry's capacity to deliver depends on it.
Techspan Industries donated the component kits used throughout the car's electrical system: high-voltage hook-up wire, lugs, ring terminals, crimp connectors, fuses, heat shrink, and mounting hardware. The car will sit on the booth floor as a display-only exhibit.
"Connecting people and powering success is not a tagline for us. It is the actual business, and it starts long before a project reaches a job site," said Kirk Readings, Chief Revenue Officer, ECS. "The students on this team specified, terminated, and tested every connection on that car themselves. That is the same work our customers do every day, just at a different scale. Partnering with youth-led programs is how our industry makes sure there are people ready to build what Canada is about to build, and being part of that matters more to us than anything we could put on a product sheet."
Belden and Techspan Industries are both partners on the ECS booth at ETC 2026. The booth will carry product literature from both companies, and representatives from both will be at the booth with the ECS team for the run of the show.
Electricity Transformation Canada brings together utilities, developers, contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers working on Canada's electricity system, from renewable generation and energy storage through to grid and distribution infrastructure. ECS supplies cable into all of these sectors from its nine locations in Canada and the two locations in the United Arab Emirates.
ECS technical and account team members will be in the booth throughout the three-day event to talk through product specifications, applications, lead times, and supply program options, and to introduce attendees to the TMFR students behind the car.
Event Details:
What: Electricity Transformation Canada (ETC) 2026
Where: Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario
When: October 19 to 21, 2026
ECS Booth: #323
Booth Partners: Belden, Techspan Industries
This news matters because it underscores the critical role of youth-led engineering programs in building the skilled workforce needed for Canada's expanding electrification sector. By supporting TMFR, ECS is not only showcasing innovation but also investing in the future talent pipeline that will deliver major infrastructure projects. For industry stakeholders, it highlights the importance of collaboration between manufacturers, distributors, and educational institutions to ensure a reliable supply of qualified professionals. The presence of such initiatives at a key industry event like ETC 2026 signals a growing recognition that human capital development is as essential as technological advancement in the energy transition.
