Toronto Global Welcomes Canada's Selection as Host Country for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, Calls for a Transparent Host City Process
Press Release
Toronto Global urges the federal government to launch a merit-based selection process with published criteria and a clear timeline.
TORONTO, May 1, 2026 /CNW/ - Toronto Global today welcomed the announcement that Canada has been selected as the host country for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), a new multilateral institution backed by approximately forty NATO and allied Indo-Pacific governments.
The DSRB is modelled on the World Bank. Member governments contribute capital; the bank issues bonds on international markets and lends the proceeds to participating countries at rates lower than most could secure independently. The institution is designed to finance defence procurement, industrial expansion, and infrastructure resilience at the scale and tenor that commercial markets are not built to supply. It is expected to create more than 3,500 jobs in the host country across defence finance, international operations, and specialized research.
Toronto's case rests on the fundamentals required to support a bank of this scale from day one. The region is home to more than 315,000 professionals in finance and insurance, more than the combined total of the other Canadian bid cities. It also houses the country's core financial infrastructure, concentrated within a few blocks of Bay Street. That proximity brings together regulators, market operators, clearing and settlement systems, institutional capital, and global banks into a single, functioning environment. It is further strengthened by direct international connectivity through Toronto Pearson, Canada's largest airport and a primary gateway for global business. Together, these elements form a complete operating system for a multinational financial institution.
Allied governments have made decisions like this before. When the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was established in 1991, they chose London because it had, on day one, the financial depth, regulatory architecture, and concentration of institutional capital the new bank would need to function. That decision shaped what the EBRD became, and it has never seriously been revisited. The same logic has now been applied in selecting Canada to host the DSRB. The next decision is where in Canada the bank's headquarters will sit.
With the support of key political leaders, including Premier Doug Ford, Ontario Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy, Toronto MP Julie Dzerowicz, and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Toronto Global has made the case throughout this process that Toronto is the right answer. The city is the second-largest financial centre in North America and home to Canada's largest financial services workforce. Each of Canada's Big Five banks (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC) runs its global operations from the Financial District. So do Canada's largest insurers, including Manulife, Sun Life, Intact Financial, and Fairfax Financial Holdings, and four of the country's Maple 8 pension giants: CPP Investments, OMERS, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The Ontario Securities Commission, TMX Group, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, and the Canadian Depository for Securities sit within a few blocks of each other downtown. Both the Global Risk Institute, a 50-member organization across Canada's banking, pension, and insurance sectors, and Toronto Centre, which has trained financial supervisors and regulators from more than 190 jurisdictions, operate from the same neighbourhood.
Other cities have put themselves forward to host the DSRB headquarters. We look forward to the federal government launching a transparent, merit-based bid process in the near future. Allied partners and investors will be watching this decision, and a process grounded in stated criteria supports Canada's credibility internationally, and strengthens the outcome for whichever city is selected.
Rod Phillips, Chair, Toronto Global:
"Canada's selection is a real vote of confidence from allied governments in this country's financial system, and we are proud to see it. Toronto has spent decades building the institutional infrastructure a bank like this needs, and no other Canadian city can match it. We are ready to compete on the merits. We are asking Ottawa to give every bidder that chance through a transparent process with published criteria. Run the process and I am confident Toronto will be the answer."
Stephen Lund, CEO, Toronto Global:
"This is a proud time for Canada and a real opportunity for Toronto. Allied governments created the DSRB because the scale of defence financing now required is beyond what national budgets and commercial lenders can provide on their own, and they have chosen Canada to lead it. Toronto is where that leadership belongs. The capital markets, the regulatory infrastructure, and the institutional relationships the bank needs are already operating here at the depth and scale required. Our financial community, civic leaders, and the Province of Ontario are aligned because the case is straightforward. We look forward to submitting our bid."
About Toronto Global
Toronto Global brings world-class international investment to the GTA to create jobs and strengthen the economy. We do it by proactively pursuing global companies and supporting every stage of their journey, from first outreach to final decision. Partner with us to grow the Toronto Region's economy.
Toronto would seem like a no-brainer, but I wonder if it's proximity to the US should give pause, especially if it remains a rogue actor and develops an international outlook similar to Russia and China. It would be relatively easy for them to render the headquarters ineffective or inoperative in any annexation scenarios. The best place to put it might be Edmonton, but they're not bidding, so Ottawa would be the next logical choice.