Good afternoon. Thank you, Doug.

Three months ago, here in Halifax, we announced that Canada had achieved NATO’s 2% defence spending target, for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

As I emphasised then, this is not a ceiling for Canada’s defence investment, but the foundation. In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada must do more to defend ourselves, secure our sovereignty, and support our allies.

Today, we are building on that foundation in a way that makes us stronger, more independent, and more prosperous.

The assumptions that shaped decades of Canadian defence and foreign policy have been upended.

History is back with a vengeance.

We face numerous and growing threats, from incursions in our Arctic to attacks in cyberspace.

The nature of warfare is changing rapidly, driven by the proliferation of drones, autonomous systems, and hypersonic missiles.

The world has changed, and Canada must change with it.

Nowhere is that more evident than in our seas and in Canada’s Arctic.

Canada’s Arctic is becoming integral to the security of both North America and NATO’s western flank.

Our frozen seas are increasingly open, bringing new threats and opportunities.

Commercial vessels can increasingly transit our waters, shortening journeys between continents and connecting us to the world’s largest markets.

Canada’s allies are relying on our resources to ensure secure supply chains.

Authoritarian regimes are increasingly assertive. The burdens within traditional alliances are shifting. Middle powers, such as Canada, are seeking greater strategic autonomy through partnerships amongst the like-minded.

We must meet the realities of both a changing climate and the new geopolitical landscape.

The sovereignty of our country, bounded by three oceans and the world’s longest coastline, depends on our maritime capabilities. I want to salute the women and men of the Royal Canadian Navy for leading that.

We need to give them the right equipment, the right tools, the right capacities to do their jobs.

First, we need to be aware of what is in, over, and under our vast territory, which is why we are investing in a new fleet of P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft and Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar.

Second, we need to be able to defend those waters. Which is why the government is building 15 River-class destroyers and a new fleet of heavy polar icebreakers and Arctic patrol vessels.

And it is why we are here today. To announce an ambitious investment in submarines.

Submarines can patrol undetected, deny adversaries access to our territory, gather intelligence, and project power in places where no other platform can operate as effectively.

For decades, Canada’s submarine service has fulfilled those responsibilities with distinction.

However, our Victoria-class platforms are at the end of their operational lives. Only one of these four submarines is seaworthy, providing insufficient capability to ensure a credible presence on more than one of our three coasts at the same time.

The sailors who serve aboard them have done extraordinary work to sustain a critical capability for Canada. Yet dedication alone cannot replace modernisation.

Today, as part of our commitments to defend Canada and support our allies, I am pleased to announce that Canada has selected Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred supplier for Canada’s Patrol Submarine Project.

We will now enter negotiations to procure up to 12 submarines.

This process is commercially sensitive, and always, we will not negotiate in public so as to maintain the strongest possible position for Canada. What I can say today is that we have already provisioned for the purchasing of these submarines in the fiscal framework. I can confirm that this procurement will be the largest in Canadian history and that, by design, this process will have, far and away, the greatest economic impact across Canada.

In the event that negotiations with TKMS are unsuccessful, Canada retains the right to designate Hanwha Ocean, currently the reserve supplier, as the preferred supplier, and enter negotiations with them.

This was a difficult, close decision between two highly qualified suppliers. Both the TKMS and Hanwha platforms met the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Navy, and both bidders put forward strong proposals to maximise benefits for Canadian workers and businesses.

I would like to thank both bidders for the extraordinarily thoughtful, comprehensive, and cooperative proposals they and their governments submitted.

As dynamic, reliable, like-minded democracies, Germany, Norway, and the Republic of Korea are each critical strategic partners to Canada in this new world.

In the end, this decision was about choosing the absolute best platform and partnership to meet Canada’s combined strategic, security, and economic interests.

These are the next generation of submarines, amongst the most advanced ever built. The fuel-cell air-independent propulsion system allows for more than 40 days fully submerged in near-total silence. Combined with purpose-built combat capabilities, lithium-ion batteries for speed and rapid recharge, and unparalleled endurance under ice, the TKMS platform delivers exceptional strength, stealth, and staying power.

The TKMS platform is optimised for Arctic waters and fully NATO interoperable, allowing it to communicate seamlessly, share intelligence, and carry out joint missions.

The submarine is proven and capable.

It is used widely by our allies. TKMS provides submarines to over a third of the NATO Alliance, and is the leading submarine provider to navies around the world.

This Type 212CD sub was designed to maximise interoperability between allied navies – which means our submarines will operate seamlessly alongside our NATO partners, sharing training, maintenance, parts, technology, even crews throughout their service lives.

TKMS has also offered to reallocate boats from German and Norwegian orders, allowing early delivery of four submarines by 2034.

TKMS is also the best choice for Canadian workers.

It will create and sustain an ecosystem of well over a hundred thousand well-paying jobs across Canada.

In its initial phase, this project will put Canadians to work on the direct construction of these submarines – as welders and pipefitters in our shipyards, engineers designing next-generation systems, machinists building precision components, and researchers advancing the technologies of tomorrow.

As the project matures, we will build the infrastructure to house this fleet, the shipyards, jetties, dry docks, and support facilities that will employ ironworkers, electricians, pipefitters, and heavy equipment operators in communities across the country.

We will build the capacity to maintain and sustain these submarines – creating long-term, stable careers for technicians, engineers, and skilled tradespeople who will service this fleet for its operational life.

As a condition of this contract, 100% of the value of our investment must be matched here in Canada. And while we will not release the final contract price until commercial negotiations are completed, we can confirm that this means Canada will receive tens of billions in investment from TKMS. Investments that will impact every region of the country. Investments across key defence and industrial domains, including space, munitions, autonomous technology, critical minerals, and research and development.

In Vancouver and Halifax, our best engineers will build the sustainment capability that will keep this fleet at sea for decades.

In Montréal, high-tech innovators will build the simulators that will train the sailors who serve aboard it.

In Calgary, our clean energy companies will help power it.

And in Manitoba, aerospace technicians will build the torpedoes it carries.

The students in our schools today – studying engineering, the trades, and advanced technology – will graduate into a job market richer in opportunity.

The TKMS submarines will strengthen our defence industrial base, deepen our partnerships with trusted allies, and open new opportunities for Canadian businesses in European supply chains.

They will bring investment into critical sectors – from defence and advanced manufacturing to space technologies and critical minerals. And they will help ensure that Canadian workers and Canadian companies help build new capabilities that will protect Canada and our allies for decades to come.

This is more than a procurement project.

A partnership that will anchor new industrial collaboration between Canada and Europe.

A partnership that will integrate Canadian expertise into some of the world’s most advanced defence supply chains.

And a partnership that will position Canada not simply as a customer, but as a contributor to the collective security and economic resilience of the transatlantic alliance.

This procurement is historic, for the ambition, speed, and discipline with which it was delivered.

In less than a year, we have received, reviewed, and selected bids for the most consequential defence procurement in Canadian history – five years ahead of the original schedule.

This is a powerful demonstration of Canada’s Defence Investment Agency in action: equipping our Armed Forces with the capabilities they need, when they need them, while strengthening Canada’s industrial base for the decades ahead.

Similar to our recently announced plan to partner with Saab and Bombardier to build the GlobalEye surveillance aircraft in Canada, we are working with trusted allies to strengthen our Armed Forces while growing Canadian companies and creating thousands of quality jobs.

Our government campaigned on the promise we would fix Canada’s chronic defence procurement problems. Today’s announcement is another important step in that direction.

Consistent with that strategy, this project is about much more than acquiring submarines.

It builds Canadian industrial capacity. It is a partnership with Canadian companies and workers. It creates sovereign sustainment, meaning Canada will maintain and support these capabilities for generations, maximising the long-term economic impacts across Canada.

In a more dangerous world, economic security and national security go hand in hand.

Tonight, I will fly to Ankara for the NATO Summit. Canada arrives positioned to help lead the Alliance.

Our fiscal framework has already budgeted to achieve 4% of GDP in total defence spending by the end of this decade. That includes the costs of these submarines over the fiscal horizon.

In the Arctic and on NATO’s western flank, Canada is taking a leadership role.

These new submarines, combined with the world’s second-largest fleet of icebreakers, new aircraft, new radar, more missiles and drones, better cyber defences, and new ports and airbases, are allowing Canada to assert its full sovereignty in the Arctic.

We are matching those investments with presence: through Operation NANOOK at home, Exercise Cold Response in the High North, and Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia. We are also amongst the largest contributors to the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine.

And through the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, Canada will help mobilise affordable capital so democratic nations can build their defence industries faster, and in the most cost-effective way.

This is a sign to the entire world that Canada understands the moment, is rising to meet it, and is prepared to lead.

We are concentrating our defence spending in ways to make Canada safer, more independent, and more prosperous. Today’s announcement is a clear example of that approach.

Nearly four decades ago, the Berlin Wall crumbled, ushering in hopes for a new era.

That would lift the spectre of nuclear confrontation, advance democracy, push tyranny into retreat, and make the world safer.

The Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Millions gained their freedom. Democracy expanded. Families separated by walls and barbed wire were reunited.

And yet the optimism of that moment carried dangerous assumptions: That history had settled in freedom’s favour. That major conflict between powerful states belonged to the past. That prosperity alone could guarantee our security.

For many countries, including our own, those assumptions encouraged complacency.

It is no coincidence that 1989 – the year the Berlin Wall collapsed – was the last time Canada’s defence spending was above 2%.

A more just, stable, and prosperous world for all may yet come.

But not without vigilance, resolve, and partnership amongst like-minded allies.

Last October, I promised that the new Defence Investment Agency would accelerate timelines, strengthen partnerships, and deliver better outcomes for both our Armed Forces and our economy.

Seven months ago, in Davos, I stated that Canada must work with like-minded middle powers, at speed and scale, to create mutual resilience, to expand our strategic capabilities, and to build greater strategic autonomy.

In February, we launched our new Defence Industrial Strategy – a bold plan to get our Armed Forces what they need, when they need it; to scale Canadian defence companies; and to put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in the strategic sectors of our economy.

We are turning those commitments into action.

Because tyranny is no longer in retreat.

Because the threats we and our allies face are real and varied.

Because they must be met head on by a Canada prepared to defend our interests, protect our citizens, build our economy, and secure our future.