An average of up to 50,000 jobs could be created in Canada over the next five years should the federal government opt to buy the German-made Type 212CD submarine, CBC News has learned.
Up until this point in the fierce competition over the navy’s new submarines, both the German and Norwegian governments and the builder, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), have been reluctant to reveal strict details of the potential economic benefits that could accrue from their proposal.
However, information viewed by CBC News shows the combined impact of investments by both the German government and the shipyard in various projects across the country could deliver an $86-billion boost to Canada’s gross domestic product and create over 654,695 job years of employment over the lifetime of the deal.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius referenced the numbers while speaking at the annual defence trade show CANSEC on Wednesday.
But the information viewed by CBC News shows many of the potential investments could be delivered within the first two years following a decision by the Carney government on whether to go with the bid from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean shipyard, or TKMS, which is based in Kiel, Germany.
Both companies submitted bids at the beginning of March, but were given extra time to sharpen their economic proposals and outline how their pitches can boost the Canadian economy and employment.
Industrial offsets and investment are playing a key role in the competition because the navy’s planned 12 submarines are expected to be built offshore.
The manufacturer is proposing two maintenance facilities be constructed — one on either coast — with blueprints from an existing centre that’s been established in Norway. The company has also signed teaming agreements with four Indigenous development organizations.
The information shows another part of the proposal calls for the establishment of manufacturing centres to build heavy torpedoes and anti-torpedo systems, as well as the potential for a facility to test and maybe build hypersonic missiles.
The company wants to build the submarine propulsion and batteries in Canada, as well.
Outside of the military aspects, the German government is proposing major investments in the Port of Churchill, Man., to help get critical minerals and liquified natural gas to market. It also wants to establish a carbon capture facility in a joint venture with the province of Alberta.
The federal government is no doubt weighing the geopolitical significance of the decision, said Philippe Lagassé, an associate professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.
“Selecting the German Norwegian boat indicates a deeper commitment to the NATO alliance, an alliance that could solidify mutual defence of the Canadian Arctic, which is something that Canadians are hinging towards and have been considering now for European allies,” Lagassé said in reference to the deeper co-operation among Nordic nations, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany.
Selecting the Korean boat “would indicate an openness” to a new type of arrangement in the Indo-Pacific.
South Korean submarine crosses Pacific as part of bid for Canadian military sales
Competition for the multi-billion dollar contract has become intense. Last weekend, the South Korean submarine ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho arrived off the B.C. coast for exercises with the Canadian Navy.
The newly-built 3,000-ton KSS-III submarine is the kind Hanwha Ocean wants to sell to Canada.
The federal government has told both bidders that it intends to make a decision by the end of June.
