Ontario Ready to Take Bid to Host Defence, Security and Resilience Bank to the World

Bank would bring up to 3,500 direct jobs to Canada if Toronto is selected as host city

The Ontario government took the next step in its ongoing advocacy to secure Toronto’s selection as the headquarters of the newly created Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), launching a comprehensive bid book outlining Toronto’s pitch. The city’s bid to host the DSRB, backed up by finance, tech, manufacturing, academic and government leaders from across the province, was launched in December, with the goal of obtaining the federal government’s backing for Toronto’s selection. While the federal government has yet to announce a decision, the province and City of Toronto are continuing to prepare the strongest possible bid for consideration by the allied nations that make up the bank’s members.

“Toronto offers the financial expertise, institutional capacity and global connectivity a multilateral organization like the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank needs, while Ontario delivers the defence manufacturing, advanced technology and skilled workforce that turn investment into real capability,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “Simply put, Toronto offers Canada the best chance of securing global backing to host the DSRB and to welcome all the benefits that hosting the DSRB would bring to the entire country. We’re ready to pitch Toronto and Canada to our allies: Now it’s time for the federal government to join us by making Toronto Canada’s choice.”

The bid launch event highlighted the many attributes that make Toronto uniquely positioned to host the bank, including:

• The province’s willingness to support the bank’s search for interim and long-term headquarters
   
• The province’s willingness to support the bank’s mission as an equity partner, including by potentially leveraging the province’s $5 billion Protect Ontario Account
   
• The widespread support that Toronto’s bid has from sectors and communities across the province, including multiple levels of government
   
• Toronto’s position as a global centre of finance, supported by world class colleges and universities and a growing defence manufacturing sector, provides a world-class workforce that would be able to staff the bank and support its mission without delay
   
• Toronto’s world-class connectivity, including multiple international airports in the region with hundreds of destinations around the world, as well as close to 104 consular offices in the Greater Toronto Area

“Toronto boasts Canada’s largest hub for finance, international business, technology, and innovation. Our talent pool is unmatched, with a highly skilled workforce spanning finance, technology, and advanced disciplines,” said Mayor Olivia Chow “Our expertise, our innovation, and our people make Toronto the best choice in Canada for the DSRB. For a strong, credible, and effective launchpad to build the bank that will safeguard our world, choose Toronto.”

The launch event was attended by a number of supporters from across the province, highlighting both the diversity and wealth of experience that the DSRB would have to draw on if it were located in Toronto, as well as the widespread support Toronto’s bid to host the bank has from across Ontario.

“Canada’s message to our allies is clear: we will not simply participate in the defence of democracy — we will lead it. Hosting the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank in Toronto is how we turn that commitment into action,” said Julie Dzerowicz, Chair of the Toronto Liberal Caucus “Canada's political stability, our AAA-rated financial system, and Toronto's world-class talent make this the strongest case any country can offer. As Prime Minister Mark Carney has said: if we want a more secure world, we need a stronger Canada. The DSRB belongs here.”

The DSRB is expected to create up to 3,500 direct, good-paying jobs and many more secondary jobs, benefiting not just Toronto but the entire province and country. As the country’s leading centre of finance, defence manufacturing, research and tech, along with transportation links to the rest of the world unmatched anywhere else in Canada, Toronto is Canada’s most credible option to host the DSRB. By selecting Toronto as its preferred candidate to host the DSRB, the federal government can give Canada its best chance at winning the right to host the bank and secure the jobs and other benefits it will bring to Canada.