Ottawa to spend almost $2B over 4 years to buy 190 Canadian

Ottawa to spend almost $2B over 4 years to buy 190 Canadian-made armoured vehicles

Purchase will increase Canada's fleet of armoured combat support vehicles to 550

Canada will spend almost $2 billion over four years on 190 armoured combat support vehicles that will be built by London, Ont.-based General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday.

Speaking in the southwestern Ontario city, Carney told reporters that the new vehicles will boost Canada's fleet of armoured combat support vehicles to 550 and will serve as key military assets for "decades to come."

"Today’s announcement is our defence industrial strategy in action. Our bold plan to get our Armed Forces what they need, when they need it, to scale Canadian defence companies, and to put hundreds of billions of dollars to work in the strategic sectors of our economy. Its framework is simple: build, partner, buy," Carney said in prepared remarks.

The prime minister said that the partnership with General Dynamics is the first in the government's strategic partnership framework, which will help Canada's defence companies partner with Canadian industry.

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Companies that become a strategic partner under the framework commit to investing in Canadian research and development, growing supply chains and hiring Canadian workers.

"In return, the federal government will act as an anchor customer — accelerating approvals and opening doors to new export markets," Carney said.

"The commitment is simple: when Canadian companies build for Canada, Canada will build with them."

Carney said that the partnership with General Dynamics will "create and sustain" more than 6,000 "high-paying Canadian jobs every year over the next eight years."

Those jobs, the prime minister said, will be spread across the country with Ryan Manufacturing in Richmond, B.C., supplying the military-grade cable and wire harness assemblies.

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He also said Interpro in Regina will produce advanced armour, Thales Canada in Saint-Laurent, Que., will supply thermal imaging systems and IMP Aerospace & Defence in Enfield, N.S., will supply other specialized components, which will all be assembled in London.

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.