Thank you very much, Doug, and let me salute the work that Doug Guzman and the Defence Investment Agency have done in a very short period of time. You’re going to hear about the impact of that. I’d also like to begin, by acknowledging, the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Melanie Joly, and the Minister of National Defence, and the partnership, along with Secretary of State Fuhr, the whole government, getting us to where we are. I want to salute my caucus colleagues, Kody Blois, Chris d’Entremont, Alana Hirtle, Braedon Clark, and Jaime Battiste. And I want to thank Premier Houston, for being here, for his leadership, our partnership in energy, in defence, in finance, across a wide range of areas, Building Nova Scotia Strong, Building Canada Strong. You know, it was, three months ago, not far from here. We had to be inside because it was raining, unusually. It was three months ago. We were here, right here in Halifax, announcing that Canada had achieved NATO’s 2% defence spending target for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

And what we emphasized then was that this was not a ceiling for Canada’s defence investment, it was a foundation. Because in a more dangerous and divided world, Canada must do more to defend ourselves, to secure our sovereignty, to support our allies. And today, we’re building on that foundation in a way that makes us stronger, makes us more independent, and more prosperous.

The assumptions that had shaped decades of Canadian defence and foreign policy have been upended. Put another way, history is back with a vengeance. We face numerous and growing threats, from incursions in our Arctic to attacks in our cyberspace. The nature of warfare is changing rapidly, driven by a proliferation of drones, autonomous systems, hypersonic missiles, to name a few. The world’s changed. Canada must change with it. Nowhere is that more evident than on our seas and in our Arctic. Our Arctic is becoming integral to the security of North America, and to the security of NATO’s western flank. Our frozen seas are increasingly open, bringing new threats and opportunities. Commercial vessels can increasingly transit our waters, shortening the journeys between continents, connecting us to the world’s largest markets.

Canada’s allies are relying on our resources, including critical minerals, to secure their supply chains. More menacingly, authoritarian regimes are increasingly assertive. The burdens within our traditional alliances are shifting, and middle powers such as Canada are seeking greater strategic autonomy through partnerships amongst the like-minded. We must meet both the realities of a changing climate and that new geopolitical landscape. The sovereignty of our country, bounded by three oceans and the world’s longest coastline, depends on our maritime capabilities. And I want to salute the women and men of Canada’s Navy.

(Applause)

We need to give them the right equipment, the right tools, great capacities to do their jobs. And first, we need to be aware of what’s in, what’s over, what’s under our vast territory. And that’s why we’re investing in a new fleet of P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft. That’s why we’re investing in Arctic Over The Horizon Radar. Secondly, we obviously need to be able to defend those waters, which is why we’re building 15 River-class destroyers, an entirely new fleet of polar icebreakers, and Arctic patrol vessels. And it’s why we’re here today to announce an ambitious investment in new, best in class submarines.

Submarines that 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. It’s clear. 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 to support our allies, I’m pleased to announce that Canada has selected TKMS as the preferred supplier for Canada’s patrol submarine project.

(Applause)

It’s a huge step, but there’s more to come. We will now enter into negotiations to procure up to 12 submarines, and that process is commercially sensitive. And as always, we will not negotiate in public so as to maintain the strongest possible position for Canada. What I can confirm today is that we have already, we have already provisioned for the costs of purchasing these submarines in our fiscal framework. It’s already in the budget. And I can confirm that this procurement will be the largest in Canadian history. And that by design, and Doug Guzman just alluded to this very lightly. By design, this process will have far and away the greatest economic impact of any defence investment right across Canada.

(Applause)

Now we’re preserving our options in the event the negotiations with TKMS are unsuccessful. We don’t expect that. If they are unsuccessful, Canada retains the right to designate Hanwha Ocean, currently the reserve supplier, as the preferred supplier, and enter into negotiations with them. I want to be clear that this was a difficult close decision between two highly qualified suppliers. Both the TKMS and the Hanwha platforms met the capabilities, the very high capabilities of the Royal Canadian Navy, and both of them put forward strong proposals to maximize the benefits for Canadian workers and businesses, and on behalf of the government, on behalf of the Canadian people, I would like to thank both bidders for the extraordinarily thoughtful, comprehensive and cooperative proposals that they and their government submitted.

(Applause)

As dynamic, reliable, like-minded democracies, Germany, Norway and the Republic of Korea are each critical strategic partners to Canada in this new world. Now, 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 amongst the most advanced submarines 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 the ice, the TKMS delivers exceptional strength, stealth, and staying power. The TKMS platform is optimized for Arctic waters, and it’s fully NATO interoperable, allowing it to communicate seamlessly, to share intelligence, and to carry out joint missions. The submarine is proven and capable. It’s widely used by our allies. In fact, TKMS provides submarines to over one third of the NATO alliance and is the leading submarine provider to navies around the world, and the type we’re moving to purchase, the Type 212CD. Is that Two Hundred Twelve, or Two One Two? Two Twelve. Okay, let’s roll tape. Let’s redo, Type 212CD sub will operate seamlessly alongside our NATO partners sharing training, maintenance, parts, technology, and even crews throughout their service lives.

In addition, TKMS has offered to reallocate boats from the German and Norwegian orders, allowing for early delivery of the first four submarines by 2034. TKMS is the best choice for Canadian workers. It will directly create and sustain an ecosystem of well over 100,000 well-paying jobs across Canada.

(Applause)

And in its initial phase, this project will put Canadians to work on the direct construction of these submarines. That means welders, pipefitters, engineers designing the next generation systems, machinists building precision components, researchers advancing the technologies of tomorrow. As the project matures will build the infrastructure to house this fleet. The shipyards, the jetties, the dry docks and the support facilities that will employ ironworkers, electricians, pipefitters, heavy equipment operators and communities right across Canada and we’ll build the capacity to maintain and sustain these submarines, creating long-term, stable careers for technicians, engineers, skilled tradespeople who will service this fleet for its long operational life. As a condition of the contract, fully 100% of the value of our investment must be matched with investment here in Canada. And while, as I said, we won’t release the final contract price until the commercial negotiations are completed, we can confirm that this means Canada will receive tens of billions of dollars in investment from TKMS. Investments that impact every region of the country.

Investments across key defence and industrial domains, including space, munitions, autonomous technologies, critical minerals and R&D. So that means in Vancouver and Halifax, our best engineers will build a sustainment capability that will keep this fleet in the sea for decades. It means in Montréal, high tech innovators who build simulators will train the sailors who serve aboard it. In Calgary, our clean energy companies will help power it. In Manitoba, our aerospace technicians will help build the torpedoes it carries and students in our schools today studying engineering the trades, advanced technology will graduate into a job market that’s richer in opportunity. So, these subs will strengthen our defence industrial base. They’ll deepen our partnerships with trusted allies, and they’ll open new opportunities for Canadian businesses in European supply chains.

In fact, this is more than a procurement project. It is a long-term partnership. 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.

Now I want to say a word about process, because this procurement is also historic for the ambition, speed, and discipline with which it was delivered. In less than a year, we’ve reviewed, we’ve received, reviewed, and selected bids for the most consequential defence procurement in Canadian history, fully five years ahead of the original schedule. This is a powerful demonstration of Canada’s new Defence Investment Agency in action, equipping our armed forces with the capabilities they need when they need them, while strengthening our industrial base for the decades ahead. And it’s similar to our recently announced plan to partner with Saab and Bombardier to build the GlobalEye surveillance aircraft here in Canada. We’re working with trusted allies to strengthen our armed forces, while growing Canadian companies and creating tens of thousands of quality jobs. You know, we campaigned on the promise that we would fix Canada’s chronic defence procurement problems, and today’s announcement is another important step in that direction. Now, consistent with that strategy, as I’ve said, the project builds Canadian industrial capacity. It’s a partnership with Canadian companies and workers. It creates sovereign sustainment, meaning Canada will maintain and support these capabilities for generations, maximizing those long-term impacts. And in a dangerous world, economic security and national security go hand in hand.

Tonight, the Minister of National Defence and I will fly to Ankara for the NATO summit. Canada will arrive in a position 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, ahead of NATO’s 2035 timetable. That includes, as I said, provisioning for the costs of these submarines. 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, combined with new aircraft, new radar, more missiles and drones, better cyber defences, new ports and air bases are allowing Canada to assert our full sovereignty in the Arctic. We’re matching these investments with increased presence through Operation Nanook at home, Exercise Cold Response in the High North, and Operation Reassurance in Latvia. We’re amongst the largest contributors to the coalition of the willing for Ukraine, and through the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank Canada, will help mobilize affordable capital so democratic nations can build their defence industries faster and in the most cost-effective ways.

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.

To finish, nearly four decades ago the Berlin Wall crumbled, ushering in hopes for a new era, an era that would lift the spectre of nuclear confrontation, an era that would advance democracy, push tyranny into retreat, and make the world safer.

That hope was not misplaced. 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’s no coincidence that 1989, the year that the Berlin Wall collapsed, was the last time our defence spending was above 2%. Well, history has returned. And while a more just, stable, and prosperous world for all may yet come, it won’t come without vigilance, resolve, and partnership amongst like-minded allies. So, last October, we promised that the new Defence Investment Agency would accelerate timelines, strengthen partnerships, deliver better outcomes for our armed forces and our economy. In January in Davos, I stated that Canada must work with like-minded middle powers at speed and scale to create mutual reliance to expand our strategic capabilities and to build greater strategic autonomy. In February, here, 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 put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in strategic sectors of our economy.

Well, we’re 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. And because we are Canada Strong.