The Ford government has unveiled a framework that will see the province invest and grow its defence industry over the next decade.
Premier Doug Ford said the expansion will lead to 43,000 jobs and contribute $6 billion to the provincial economy while generating over $400 million in annual provincial tax revenue by 2035. He made the announcement at CANSEC, a leading global tradeshow hosted by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries in Ottawa on Thursday.
“As Canada and its allied partners prepare to make generational investments into national security projects, these strengths position Ontario to drive industrial development, create good-paying jobs and reinforce the province’s role as a trusted partner in domestic and allied defence supply chains,” provincial officials said in a statement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told NATO allies last June that Canada will increase its core defence spending by 3.5 per cent in the next decade. His government also has committed to defence-related spending worth 1.5 per cent of GDP — spending for things like building transport infrastructure and enhancing emergency preparedness measures.
The Carney government’s first federal budget, released in the fall, committed to investing an additional $81.8 billion over the next five years.
The 2025 budget also declares that Canada is already on track to meet that 1.5 per cent target for defence-related spending, thanks to existing plans at the provincial and municipal levels.
Canada was recently selected to host the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, but the federal government has yet to choose a host city. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver are all in the running to host the headquarters of the defence bank, which would finance defence projects for NATO members and allies.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report