General (Ret’d) Rick Hillier Named Honourary Chair as Canada’s Capital Region Bids for Global Defence Security Resiliency Bank Headquarters
Press Release
December 8, 2025; Ottawa–Gatineau, Canada— Today, leaders from across Canada’s Capital Region announced a major step forward in building the region’s opportunity and impact in Canada’s national and global defence innovation economy: General (Ret’d) Rick Hillier will serve as Honourary Chair of the National Defence Innovation Hub Task Force for Canada’s Capital Region. This appointment further strengthens and accelerates the execution of the Capital Region’s Defence Innovation Hub Strategy, which aims to bolster Canada’s sovereign capability, accelerate innovation, and enhance support for our Forces, our country, and our Allies.
As part of this work, the Task Force will guide the region’s official bid to host the Global Defence & Security Resilience Bank (DSRB) headquarters, a diplomatic institution that will mobilize critical capital, strengthen sovereign capability, and reinforce the resilience, security, and economic strength of allied nations. This bid directly advances Goal #8 of the Capital Region’s Defence Innovation Hub Strategy: Grow and attract the defence capital required to fuel the growth and success of entrepreneurs and companies.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, and Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney at the Mayor Breakfast event in December 2025
“Prime Minister Mark Carney highlighted his government’s goal of making the National Capital Region a global defence innovation hub. We welcome the opportunity to host the DSRB and formally invite anchor nations to convene the bank’s charter negotiations in Ottawa-Gatineau when they commence in 2026.” Mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau stated in their recent joint statement. “We would be honoured to host this once-in-a-generation gathering and the headquarters of the DSRB. Canada’s National Capital Region is fully committed to supporting the DSRB’s global success”.
This new global defence bank will be the first of its kind: a multilateral, investment-grade institution that pools allied sovereign capital, leverages it up to 25 times, and channels billions into the companies, technologies, and infrastructure that keep nations secure. Modeled on the principles that underpin the World Bank, the DSRB is engineered to solve the structural capital gap that traditional lenders cannot fill and to transform national security investment into national prosperity.
“I’m pleased to announce General (Ret’d) Rick Hillier as Honourary Chair of Ottawa’s National Defence Innovation Hub Task Force. His leadership and experience will be invaluable as we accelerate our Defence Innovation Hub Strategy here in the Capital Region, together with our partners from Gatineau, and build on the success of more than 300 companies in the defence sector in our region”, said Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. “Hosting the Defence, Security & Resilience Bank would be a game-changer for our city and our country, bringing billions in investment, creating high-quality jobs, and reinforcing Canada’s role on the world stage. Ottawa and Gatineau have the opportunity to lead Canada’s efforts at building a stronger, more sovereign defence sector.”
The Ottawa–Gatineau region is uniquely positioned to anchor the headquarters of the DSRB. It is the only region in Canada where the full federal financial governance ecosystem, Bank of Canada, EDC, CMHC, OSFI, FINTRAC, and others, operates alongside Canada’s diplomatic corps, 130 embassies, 4 NATO DIANA test centres, national defence institutions, intelligence agencies, 8 post-secondary institutions, 330 defence and security firms, and over 1,800 technology companies.
“Gatineau and Ottawa form a single, strong economic region,” said Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, Mayor of the City of Gatineau. “Our entrepreneurial, bilingual, and diplomatic ecosystem is an undeniable strength in meeting the needs of Canadians. The DSRB would reinforce this role and generate economic benefits locally and nationally, while highlighting our region’s commitment to collaboration, innovation, and security.”
Invest Ottawa developed and is now implementing this strategy together with and for the community it serves, growing our economy, fueling entrepreneurs and companies, and strengthening the capabilities that support our Forces and our Allies.
“The DSRB and our Defence Innovation Hub Strategy are nation-building initiatives that will strengthen our Capital Region, support our Forces, protect Canadians, and help secure Canada’s position as the strongest sovereign economy in the G7”, said Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa. “Founders need a reliable path to scale, and the DSRB will provide them critical long-term capital. Moreover, with the anticipated impact of federal public sector job reductions on Ottawa–Gatineau, the DSRB headquarters is a generational opportunity to diversify our economy, anchor 3,500 future-ready jobs, and generate billions in GDP for our region and our country. A strong capital is a strong Canada.”
“As a country, we are long past the point of incremental steps. Canada needs institutions to accelerate investment into founders who are focused on building capabilities for the war fighter. The DSRB is a critical part of this equation. It will give our innovators the resources to build and deliver sovereign capabilities the CAF and NATO depend on. With government and military leadership concentrated in one location, Ottawa can serve as the centre of this hub and help drive our mission forward.” Eliot Pence, Co-Founder and CEO of Dominion Dynamics (an Ottawa defence company with technology that helps to protect our Arctic sovereignty)
About Invest Ottawa
Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital Region, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization, and marketing Ottawa’s diversified economy and high quality of life. Invest Ottawa is also the manager of Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop, and founder and operator of Area X.O, the R&D complex for next-gen smart mobility, autonomy, and connectivity technologies. Since 2017, Invest Ottawa has delivered $3.7 billion in GDP impact, 29,343 jobs, and $622 million in government revenues.