Eight countries commit to supporting the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank

Press Release + Noah Note

In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada’s security – and that of our Allies and partners – depends on the strength of our partnerships and the resilience of our industrial base. To meet this moment, we must build at speed and scale to mobilise defence investment, expand defence production, and strengthen our collective security. To that end, Canada has been advancing efforts to establish the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), a new multilateral financial institution that will bring together like-minded partners to mobilise and deploy private capital and support collective security.

A key milestone was reached in April, when following multilateral negotiations in Montréal, Canada and partners agreed to the DSRB’s founding Articles of Agreement that will establish the framework for the new institution. During these negotiations, participating countries unanimously selected Canada as the host of the DSRB’s future headquarters. All Articles of the Charter successfully negotiated in Montréal in April 2026 constitute the only basis for the establishment of the Bank.

Today, at the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, welcomed the support for the Canada-led DSRB by: Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine. These countries will be entrusted with defining the initial policies and directives of the Bank, shaping its operations and ensuring benefits flow to members’ economies.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need for Allies to produce defence capabilities at the speed and scale required to replenish stockpiles and strengthen the Alliance for the long term. As Ukraine continues to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Canada recognises the importance of accelerating the deployment of combat-proven technologies, and expanding industrial partnerships among member countries, with particular attention to members facing armed aggression. The DSRB is a pragmatic, forward-looking response that will help mobilise the investment needed to meet these challenges.

As the host nation, Canada is leading the establishment of the DSRB alongside Allies and partners. Leveraging a strong credit rating, the Bank will provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence, security, and resilience initiatives across supply chains, helping governments and small and medium-sized enterprises address critical financing gaps. It will provide guarantees that increase the availability of affordable capital, while also offering loans to member countries for priority investments. Above all, the DSRB will lead to significant job creation across member countries – with new orders for businesses in defence industries and new partnerships in emerging sectors from AI and quantum to space and cyber.

Lowering the cost of capital will help ease inflationary pressures across defence and dual-use industries, enabling countries to make better use of their defence investments while strengthening industrial capacity across the Alliance. The DSRB will complement – not duplicate – national and multilateral instruments that support defence production.

Canada now invites partner countries to undertake their respective domestic treaty processes with the shared objective of making the DSRB operational in 2027. Together with Allies and partners, Canada will continue leading the next phase of this work to bring the Bank into operation and strengthen our collective security for the years ahead.

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Quotes

“Canada is leading to build the foundations of our collective security. The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank will unlock investment, strengthen our defence industrial base, and ensure that Canada and our Allies have the capacity to meet the challenges of a more dangerous and divided world together.”

The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada

“As the lead country in establishing the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, Canada is bringing together Allies and partners to strengthen our shared security. By supporting SMEs in scaling up and seizing new opportunities, the Bank will strengthen our collective capacity to produce and export defence capabilities in response to growing global demand.”

The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue

“The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank reflects our shared commitment to strengthen both our collective security and our economic resilience. By mobilising public and private investment, Canada and its Allies are building the industrial capacity needed to respond to today's challenges and support a stronger Alliance for the future.”

The Hon. Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs

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Quick facts

• Isabelle Hudon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), is Canada’s lead negotiator for establishing the DSRB.

• A key milestone was reached in April, when following multilateral negotiations in Montréal, Canada and partners agreed to the DSRB’s founding Articles of Agreement that will establish the framework for the new institution. During these negotiations, participating countries unanimously selected Canada as the host of the DSRB’s future headquarters. All articles of the Charter successfully negotiated in Montréal in April 2026 constitute the only basis for the establishment of the Bank.

• Today’s announcement builds on historic investments the federal government has made over the past year to rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

• In one year, we have invested over $65 billion in defence and security, with Canada reaching NATO's 2% defence expenditure target for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We are on a pathway to meet NATO’s Defence Investment Pledge of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

• To enable defence industries to scale up more easily and with maximum benefit to the Canadian economy, the government launched the Defence Investment Agency and the Defence Industrial Strategy.

• The Defence Investment Agency is modernising Canada’s defence procurement by centralising expertise, cutting red tape, and streamlining decisions – supporting the implementation of Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy and helping accelerate defence investments.

• The Defence Industrial Strategy positions Canadian industry to take advantage of $180 billion in defence procurement opportunities and $290 billion in defence-related capital investment opportunities in Canada over the next 10 years.

• Canada’s defence sector is an important contributor to the economy with more than 530 firms directly accounting for 37,700 jobs in 2024, supporting a total of 62,100 jobs across the defence value chain. These companies generated $17.3 billion in revenues that same year and contributed $8.6 billion to GDP across the defence value chain.

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Noah Note: I was half right lololol. I had expected Portugal and the whole Baltic Trio to be here, didn't guess Belgium, Turkiye, or Ukraine. A good start to the DSRB, I am very happy to see Ukraine included here. I can think of no other partner who could benefit from access to significant capital better than them.

Overall though I was expecting ten, I think most were. I can't say who the other two were planned to be, assuming there might be multiple. This isnt a bad start, but not the roaring start that I think I was hoping for. Turkiye inclusion is interesting, and I imagine that this will play in Canadian desire to expand our defence relatuonship with Turkiye further.

Not bad, but the only the start. It gets some leeway from me.