London, United Kingdom
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It is a pleasure to be here to discuss some of the defence priorities that Canada and the United Kingdom share in an increasingly unpredictable and challenging global landscape.
The Government of Canada is changing its approach to defence spending-for the benefit of the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian industry, and our economy. I see a similar shift here in the United Kingdom through the National Security Strategy 2025, which emphasizes resilience at home, collective security abroad, and investment in sovereign capabilities.
As many of you know, both our countries recently signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Defence Investment Pledge to invest 5% of gross domestic product by 2035 to enhance our individual and collective security. To keep Canada on track, Prime Minister Carney has tasked me with overseeing a new Defence Procurement Agency dedicated to rebuilding, rearming, and reinvesting in our Armed Forces in a way that meets the moment - and I will execute this task with intention.
My immediate focus will be to get Canada to the 2% of gross domestic product target by March 31, 2026. This represents an additional 9.3 billion dollars in fiscal year 2025-26, bringing Canada's total defence budget to approximately 63 billion dollars. Moving forward, my responsibility is not only to oversee procurement but to help facilitate partnerships that expand opportunities for Canada in collaboration with other like-minded allies, like the United Kingdom.
In August, I was in Sweden and Finland, where I saw these kinds of partnerships come to fruition. For example, the collaboration between Canadian armoured-vehicle maker Roshel and Swedish steel producer Swebor to manufacture ballistic-grade steel in Canada, or ALMACO's investment in Quebec for the Polar Max Icebreaker project with Davie. These are strong examples of how Canadian and international collaboration can deliver world-class capabilities while creating jobs and economic growth for all involved.
Canada and the United Kingdom already share a strong record of industrial collaboration in defence procurement, and a solid example of that is the BAE Type 26 Global Combat Ship. This United Kingdom design is now the foundation for Canada's next-generation River Class Destroyers-the largest defence procurement project in Canadian history. Built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax with extensive Canadian supply chain participation, this program combines British naval innovation with Canadian industrial capacity. It ensures our navies will operate side by side with highly interoperable warships, while creating thousands of Canadian jobs and long-term sustainment opportunities. For both our countries, the Type 26 demonstrates how collaboration can deliver world-class capabilities and lasting economic benefits.
This is possible because Canada has a robust defence industry, contributing nearly 10 billion dollars to our gross domestic product and sustaining more than 81,000 jobs. With approximately 60% of its sales coming from exports, it already has a strong global footprint.
Here in London, we are showcasing that strength with more than 200 Canadian companies participating at Defence and Security Equipment International. This is Canada's largest-ever presence at the expo.
In June, Canada also signed onto Readiness 2030, Europe's largest-ever defence mobilization framework. While the associated Security Action for Europe agreement is still under negotiation, this step ensures Canada is at the table as new opportunities emerge for collaboration with our European allies. It is a powerful signal of the momentum we are building, and just the beginning of what we can achieve together.
