Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, officially opened the 15th annual Halifax International Security Forum. Minister Blair reaffirmed that Halifax is key to the defence of Canada, and announced multi-million-dollar investments in Halifax that will bolster the security of Canada and its NATO Allies, support good jobs for Haligonians, and grow the Halifax economy.
Minister Blair announced that Canada is contributing an initial investment of $26.6 million over six years in support of establishing the North American Regional office for NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) in Halifax by summer 2024. DIANA seeks to unite the best and brightest innovators across the Alliance - and provides deep tech and dual-use innovators with access to NATO resources including grant funding, acceleration services, and pathways to adapt their solutions for defence and security needs.
Halifax is home to an impressive defence innovation network, including Defence Research and Development Canada's Atlantic Research Centre, and marine technology innovation centres like COVE. The federal government will continue to make meaningful investments to ensure that Halifax remains a hub of defence innovation.
Minister Blair also announced that Canada is moving forward with a new training facility at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax, Canada's largest military base. The total estimated investment for this facility is $188 million, including design, demolition, construction, personnel, and market costs. The EllisDon Corporation of Halifax has been awarded a $7.85 million contract to design the new Combatant Training and Integration Center - Atlantic (CTIC-A), which will house cutting-edge training systems to train Canadian sailors for the incoming fleet of Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) warships.
We expect the CTIC-A project to sustain almost 650 jobs in the Halifax region during construction. The cutting-edge simulators at the Centre will provide Canadian Armed Forces members with expertise in above-water, underwater and maritime air warfighting, so that they are ready to sail on our incoming Canadian Surface Combatant fleet. Earlier today, Minister Blair visited Irving Shipbuilding Industries, where Halifax shipbuilders will build these 15 new warships. An estimated 10,000 jobs will be created or maintained throughout the 25-year construction period of the ships.
In his keynote address, Minister Blair outlined Canada's contributions to current security challenges in the Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific. Minister Blair highlighted Canada's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific, and announced that Lieutenant-General Derek Macaulay has been named as the next Deputy Commander of United Nations (UN) Command-Korea, which enforces the armistice of 1953 on the Korean Peninsula. He will officially begin his duties in Korea in the coming weeks. This is the second time that a Canadian officer has held this position.
Canada will continue to make meaningful investments to strengthen our defence capabilities - including by investing right here in Halifax.
