Montreal one step closer to landing multinational defence bank as Canada secures bid
Montreal is a step closer to hosting a new multinational defence bank after Canada was chosen as the host nation Wednesday, The Gazette has learned.
It followed negotiations, involving over a dozen undisclosed founding countries, that concluded in the city, according to a source. The news was first reported by The Globe and Mail earlier on Wednesday.
Isabelle Hudon, president and chief executive of the Business Development Bank of Canada, which is also headquartered in Montreal, led the Canadian delegation.
A final decision has yet to be made on which Canadian city will host the bank. Montreal is competing with Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. That decision is up to the Canadian government.
The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank would aim to improve access to financing for companies operating in sectors often viewed as too risky by traditional lenders, particularly those tied to defence and security. It is backed by a group of NATO allies seeking to create a new financial tool as military spending rises across member countries.
In March this year, Canada officially achieved the NATO target of spending two per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, the first time since 1990 for the country.
For Montreal, the city remains one of the three leading aerospace and defence hubs in the world, with the United States and France, and is home to more than 200 specialized companies, including Bombardier, Bell Textron, CAE, Airbus, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Pratt & Whitney.
Though the competition remains fierce. Toronto is aggressively pitching itself, leveraging its existing financial environment, according to La Presse, as well as its English-speaking environment reducing operational friction.
Canada’s finance and industry departments did not comment before publication.
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