Canada will spend almost $2 billion over four years on 190 armoured combat support vehicles that will be built by London, Ont.-based General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday.
Speaking in the southwestern Ontario, Carney told reporters that the new vehicles will boost Canada’s fleet of armoured combat support vehicles to 550 and will serve as key military assets for “decades to come.”
“Today’s announcement is our Defence Industrial Strategy in action. Our bold plan to get our Armed Forces what they need, when they need it, to scale Canadian defence companies, and to put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in the strategic sectors of our economy. Its framework is simple: build, partner, buy,” Carney said in prepared remarks.
The prime minister said that the strategic partnership with General Dynamics is the first in the government’s strategic partnership framework, which will help Canada’s defence companies partner with Canadian industry.
Companies that join General Dynamics and become a strategic partner under the framework commit to investing in Canadian research and development, growing supply chains and hiring Canadian workers.
“In return, the federal government will act as an anchor customer — accelerating approvals and opening doors to new export markets,” Carney said in his prepared remarks.
“The commitment is simple: when Canadian companies build for Canada, Canada will build with them.”
