Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Toronto’s formal bid for the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB).

The city and the province are throwing their weight behind a formal bid to make Toronto home to the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) – a new multinational bank focused on financing the security needs of democratic nations.

The new institution, modelled after the World Bank, is being established by European and Indo-Pacific countries and would serve 40 member nations.

“This bank is being launched at a time when Canada, along with our allies, faces a level of global uncertainty and instability that we haven’t seen since the Second World War,” Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference announcing the bid at the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday.

He added that “Toronto and Ontario have everything the bank needs to succeed” amid a growing appetite for global defence spending.

According to the province, headquartering the bank in Toronto would create approximately 3,500 skilled jobs, as well as many more secondary jobs, and strengthen Canada’s capacity to finance defence, security and resilience projects.

Government officials say Toronto would be a natural choice to house the bank, being a financial services hub that serves as home to all five major Canadian banks as well as 40 foreign banks. They point out the city also has strong representation in defence-related industries such as aerospace AI, cybersecurity, quantum, robotics, space technologies and advanced manufacturing.

Toronto is also home to 107 consulates and would offer a secure, rules-based environment within a G7 country that is also a NATO member, officials say.

The federal government will ultimately have the final say about which city to put forward in its bid. Montreal is also in the running at the moment.

Province could provide building

But Ford said Toronto is the only choice to pitch to the country’s allies “if Canada is going to seriously compete to be the home of the DSRB.”

The province says it would support the bank by finding office space to accommodate its initial staff and then work with partners to secure a permanent home for it in the city’s financial district.

Doug Ford and Olivia Chow Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speak at a news conference in Toronto, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

Ford did not say exactly how much the province and the city would contribute to help establish the bank in Toronto. However he did suggest the province could be involved in constructing a new headquarters for the facility.

“Let’s first win the bid, and then we’ll talk about what investments we’re going to have here,” Ford told reporters. “More than likely we’re going to invest in beautiful new headquarters that are going to attract companies from all over the world and over 40 nations.”

Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethanfalvy and Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz, who heads the federal Liberals’ Toronto caucus, joined Ford at the press conference to announce the bid Wednesday.

Chow said Toronto would be a “natural fit” for the bank.

“There is no better location than Canada’s financial capital, the beating heart of our country’s financial industry right here in Toronto,” Chow said.

She added that the city has a diverse and skilled workforce to draw on.

“Our talent pipeline is exceptional. Toronto’s diversity of talent is unmatched. People from around the world come here, bring their skills, their expertise and their experience and their connections,” she said.

Toronto’s bid is being backed by close to 170 industry partners, including major banks, telecom companies, universities and legal and consulting firms.

Canada in ‘a good spot’

Canadian businessman Kevin Reed also spoke at the bid launch. Reed serves as president of the DSRB Development Group – the body charged with setting up the new bank.

He said Canada is well-positioned heading into the selection process.

“The view is that the Pacific region would like North America. The European view would be, perhaps towards Canada, because of certain discussions within NATO,” Reed said.

“And so I think we’re at a moment in history here, where if we put our hand up high and do it fast, we will see a coalition of those other nations that are about to start negotiations absolutely support Canada.”

Reed said Canada stands out among its peers not only because of strong provincial support from Ford, but because Prime Minister Mark Carney “understands better than other most world leaders, what a multilateral bank can do on a multiplier effect for the economy.”

He said an update on the selection process for the bank’s host city is expected in early January.

Another Canadian, General (retired) Rick Hillier, sits on the bank’s board of directors. Hillier served as chief of the defence staffed of the Canadian Armed Forces from 2005 to 2008 and was also responsible for Ontario’s vaccine rollout early in the COVID-19 pandemic.