As he delivered the hard sell pitch last spring for Canada to buy his submarines, Oliver Burkhard, the CEO Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (tkMS), used the phrase “strategic partnership” half a dozen times.
Canada would be part of “a family,” he said.
We will — perhaps — soon get a better sense whether that approach is music to the ears of Prime Minister Mark Carney and key members of his cabinet, who are expected to spend much of Tuesday meeting with senior German politicians and business leaders in Berlin before touring the country’s premier shipyard.
The prime minister will meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and is slated to participate in a business roundtable with the goal of diversifying Canada’s trade and coming up with a critical minerals partnership.
However, as with many elements of his European trip this week, defence and security issues are near the top of Carney’s agenda.
In the high-stakes, multibillion-dollar gambit to replace Canada’s aging — and largely inoperable — Victoria-class submarines, the German-designed, Norwegian-partnered Type 212CD is perhaps the most well known and heavily marketed of the contenders.
Last spring on the margins of the Ottawa arms expo CANSEC, Burkhard, senior German defence official Jasper Wieck and Norwegian Capt. (N) Oystein Storebo all sat down with CBC News to discuss the tkMS information pitch, which had been submitted last year at the request of the Canadian government.
Shipyards in South Korea, Sweden and Spain also responded to requests for information.
Germany and Norway, however, have been involved for several years in their own joint submarine construction program.
Canada is looking to buy 12 conventionally powered submarines.
The Type 212CD is based on the well-established German Type 212A design, which is operated by both the German and Italian navies.
Storebo, Norway’s program director of submarines, said the 212CD (CD refers to common design) was designed for operations in all oceans, notably the Arctic.
It was a necessity because Norway is an Arctic country. With its air-independent propulsion system, the diesel electric boat can stay submerged for more than three weeks, Storebo added.
It’s a big boat — 73 metres in length, 2,800 tonnes when submerged and with eight torpedo tubes.
The initial $8.1-billion (5.5-billion Euro) order was for six 212CDs — two for Germany and four for Norway. Each country is now planning to build more, bringing the total order up to 12 boats.
The German Navy will receive its first 212CD in 2028 while Norway is expected to be in the water the following year.
The tkMS pitch also involves a plan to construct a submarine maintenance facility in Canada, creating jobs for Canadians — an important condition the Liberal government has repeatedly underlined.
Burkhard, who praised the cost savings for Germany and Norway in terms of supply and maintenance, said if Canada were to join the program it’s possible the first Canadian boat could arrive in the 2032-33 timeframe.
Slipping into the production line at this point would likely involve redesignating one of the submarines already earmarked for either Germany or Norway.
“I think there are opportunities to debate if one of those is maybe the first Canadian one,” Burkhard told CBC News.
Although, he said, much depends on the Canadian government and how swiftly it moves.
Carney has suggested the government would like to have a decision on the submarine project by 2027.
