Premier Ford pitches Toronto as best place to host new global defence bank

Ontario Premier Doug Ford pitched Toronto as the best place to host a new global bank for defence spending Wednesday.

The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) is a new multilateral initiative by democratic countries to strengthen security for commercial banks to fund defence and security firms.

At the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday, Ford, local officials and other industry partners announced that it was placing a bid to be the home of the new bank.

“We should be very clear about one thing: for Toronto, Ontario and Canada, hosting the DSRB would be transformative,” said Rod Phillips, the chair of Toronto Global. “It will create thousands of high paying jobs in security, finance and technology, while strengthening the ecosystem of companies of researchers building the technologies that keep our world safe.”

If Canada is selected, the Ontario government says it will spawn roughly 3,500 jobs, expand financial access and fast-track procurement as more nations are looking to ramp up national security while in the face of international tensions.

The headquarters is also believed to be a driver to help Canada reach its NATO spending commitments.

“All 32 NATO countries, including Canada, are working to turbo-charge our defence spending,” said Toronto’s Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz. “This means mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars and we need diverse sources of capital to do it.”

The Ontario government says the capital city is a hub for financial services, and is home to all five major Canadian Banks and over 40 foreign banks.

“As the financial capital of the country and second largest financial centre in North America, Toronto and Ontario offer unparalleled access to markets, world-class workers and infrastructure,” said Ford in a statement. “Headquartering the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, and the long-term economic benefits it would bring, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that would benefit every part of the country.”

“Toronto’s selection as Canada’s choice will give us the best possible chance of securing these benefits for all Canadians,” said Ford.

Ford’s government says that while the federal government will be the one to put forward Canada’s bid, Toronto’s only serious competition is Montreal.

“I believe that Toronto is uniquely positioned to win this bid,” said Dzerowicz. “That’s would I say to you. I do think ultimately if Canada is selected as the country, I’m promoting Toronto, but it is the prime minister’s decision.”

Meanwhile, Ford says local officials already have office space in the downtown core in mind to house the bank temporarily, but the vision is to build a 500,000 square foot facility.

“We obviously gonna go vertical,” said Ford. “We’ll be working with the mayor, like we always do, and find a great location that’s gonna be forefront. So when people come into the city, they’re gonna see something spectacular.”

CHCH News reached out to the prime minister’ office for a comment on the bid regarding the proposed defence bank, but have not yet gotten a response.

CHCH News also reached to the forming institution, asking about the selection criteria and when it intends to make its choice for its headquarters but have not gotten a response from them yet either.

With files from The Canadian Press

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