Canada Selected as Headquarters for NATO-Linked Defense, Security and Resilience Bank

Canada has been selected as the headquarters for a new NATO-linked financial institution designed to reduce borrowing costs for alliance members, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

“Canada will be the headquarters for a future NATO-linked financial institution, official says TORONTO (AP) — Canada has been selected as the headquarters for a new, financial institution led by NATO and designed to reduce borrowing costs for members of the alliance, a senior government official said on Wednesday”

Associated Press

The Associated Press reported that the decision was reached after negotiations hosted by Canada involving nearly 20 founding members of NATO’s proposed Defense, Security and Resilience Bank, or DSRB.

Associated Press

The AP said the official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak ahead of an official announcement, and added that the official “did not know which city in Canada would be the institution’s headquarters.”

The AP also noted that Ontario Premier Doug Ford cited a report about Canada being selected as the headquarters and pitched in a post on social media that it be in Toronto, saying it’s “an opportunity to put Canada” at the center of global defense finance and manufacturing.

Ford then argued, “As our nation’s financial capital, with a skilled workforce and unparalleled global connectivity, there’s no better place for the bank to be headquartered than Toronto,” according to the AP.

Radio-Canada similarly said Canada was selected to host the headquarters of the future Bank of Defense, Security and Resilience (BDSR) and that it would be up to the Carney government to decide among Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, or Vancouver.

La Presse reported that Canada was chosen on Wednesday following an unanimous vote by representatives from about twenty countries, while Le Devoir described the process as a second round of negotiations in Montreal aimed at sealing the creation of the DSR Bank.

The selection of Canada as the host country for the DSRB followed a sequence of negotiations described across multiple outlets, with Montreal repeatedly appearing as a venue for talks.

Le Devoir said the first round of discussions took place for four days in March, allowing partner countries to discuss “the chapters and articles of the charter of the future organization,” before a new ten-day phase began “Since Tuesday” in Montreal.

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Le Devoir added that the objective of the second phase was “to reach adoption of the ten chapters of the charter,” which would define governance and the scope of action.

Radio-Canada reported that the next step is to determine which city—Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, or Vancouver—will host the new body, and said “It is the Carney government that must decide.”

La Presse described behind-the-scenes work “around the clock to land its headquarters in Montreal,” and said sources familiar with the matter told La Presse that Canada had been chosen on Wednesday.

The Sunday Guardian said Canada was chosen as headquarters for the future NATO-linked financial institution “following intense negotiations among the founding countries in Montreal,” and said the decision was reached after three rounds of negotiations hosted by Canada involving 19 founding countries of the DSRB.

The Sunday Guardian also reported that four Canadian cities—Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver—put themselves forward, with the later decision to be made by the federal ministry which city would be selected.

Multiple sources tied the bank’s creation to Canada’s defense spending trajectory and to specific Canadian officials involved in the negotiations.

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The pm.gc.ca statement said Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada reached the NATO 2% defense spending target “five years ahead of the schedule set by the previous government,” and said the government was working with “more than a dozen ministries and federal agencies” to allocate “more than $63 billion to defense.”

That same statement said Canada would “unlock $500 billion in defense—from submarines to aircraft, including drones, sensors, and radar systems,” and described the creation of the “Defense Investment Agency” in October to reorganize and streamline procurement markets.

In the bank negotiations, Le Devoir quoted Isabelle Hudon, president and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, saying, “We are not at all at the stage of negotiating the chosen city for the headquarters. My mandate is to present Canada's candidacy.”

Hudon also said she was given a mandate “to negotiate with rigor, focus, but also with a sense of urgency so that this tool [the Bank of Defense] is in place as quickly as possible,” and Le Devoir reported that Prime Minister Carney, “upon returning from Davos, decided that Canada would take the lead in establishing this bank.”

Radio-Canada described Defence Minister David McGuinty framing the initiative as “a more resilient and better-suited defence industrial base, for both Canada and our allies,” and said the press release on Wednesday evening stated the bank would allow member countries to draw on shared resources.

The Sunday Guardian quoted a Department of Finance Canada press release saying, “In an increasingly uncertain and divided world, Canada is stepping up to lead with allies and partners the establishment of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB),” and said the bank would provide “long-term, low-cost financing” for defense, security, and resilience initiatives across supply chains.

As Canada’s host-country selection moved forward, outlets described competing pitches from Canadian cities—especially Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver—while still keeping the final decision pending.

Radio-Canada said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada and former Quebec Premier François Legault put the issue at the top of the agenda at their first official meeting in November, after the election of the new mayor, and argued Montreal’s case by pointing to the city’s international organizations, including “68 international organizations, including six UN offices.”

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Radio-Canada also quoted Stéphane Paquet, president and CEO of Montréal International, saying, “We continue to put forth all necessary efforts to demonstrate to the federal government that Montreal is the only city in Canada that offers all the conditions needed to ensure the success of the BDSR Bank: a sophisticated financial sector, a well-anchored defence industry and a demonstrated capacity to host international organizations,” and TVA Nouvelles said the Quebec lieutenant Joël Lightbound declared, “It's no secret that as lieutenant, I have a bias in favor of Montreal.”

For Toronto, the AP highlighted Doug Ford’s push for the headquarters to be in Toronto, and Radio-Canada reported that Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Toronto’s status as a financial capital, saying selecting Toronto as Canada’s choice would give “us the best chance to ensure these benefits for all Canadians.”

Vancouver’s pitch, according to Radio-Canada, came from British Columbia Premier David Eby, who said Vancouver is the city of choice because of its central position between Europe’s and Asia’s allies.

La Presse described Montreal’s campaign as emphasizing major defense and aerospace strengths and cited specific potential sites in downtown Montreal including “Place Bonaventure, 600 De La Gauchetière, and the World Trade Centre.”

Le Devoir said only two countries had volunteered to host the DSR Bank's headquarters—Canada and Luxembourg—and that if it is Canada, the federal government will then choose among the four Canadian cities that have already bid to host the bank's headquarters: Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

Even as officials and city leaders promoted the bank, the sources also described skepticism and opposition, alongside a continuing timeline for negotiations.

“It is in Canada that the future Bank for Defense, Security and Resilience will take root, a new financial tool that a group of countries seeking to increase their military spending wants to set up”

La Presse

The Sunday Guardian said some European critics had been questioning the bank since the decision was first announced, and it described an alternative “Security Action for Europe” program with a €150 billion EU financial instrument adopted in May 2025.

La Presse

The Sunday Guardian also reported that the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney denouncing the set-up of the bank, and it said the bank was first envisioned by Rob Murray, CEO of the bank’s development group.

Le Devoir described the bank’s mission as facilitating financing for SMEs in the defense sector within member states and NATO allies, and said the second phase aimed to adopt the ten chapters defining governance and scope.

Radio-Canada said the press release published on Wednesday evening stated the Defense Bank would allow member countries, including Canada, to draw on shared resources to meet today’s challenges with speed and resilience, and it quoted Defence Minister David McGuinty describing it as “a more resilient and better-suited defence industrial base.”

The Sunday Guardian said the bank would be tasked to provide “long-term, low-cost financing” and help small- and medium-sized enterprises and member governments address critical financing gaps, while also noting that the timeline for setting up the multilateral institution remained unclear.

Across the accounts, the immediate next step remained the selection of the host city, with Radio-Canada saying “It is the Carney government that must decide” and Le Devoir saying the decision was expected to be ratified “at the end of the negotiations, by month’s end.”