{"id":516868,"date":"2026-03-05T22:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516868\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T22:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:55:11","slug":"ottawa-says-it-still-plans-to-pick-one-builder-for-new-submarine-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516868\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa says it still plans to pick one builder for new submarine fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney climbs down a ladder into a submarine during a tour of the Hanwha Ocean Shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea, in October.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence<\/a> Procurement, says Ottawa is still planning to select a single bidder to replace Canada\u2019s aging fleet of submarines. <\/p>\n

However, Mr. Fuhr said it\u2019s possible that the government could split the contract once it has an opportunity to evaluate the bids from a German-Norwegian consortium and South Korea\u2019s shipbuilding giant.<\/p>\n

The Globe and Mail reported Monday that Ottawa is considering splitting the multibillion-dollar contract<\/a> for 12 diesel-electric submarines by buying an equal number from Germany\u2019s<\/a> ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), in partnership with its Norwegian partner Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, and Seoul-based Hanwha Oceans.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, our position is we\u2019re buying 12 subs, and we\u2019ve got two companies, really good companies,\u201d he told the Conference of Defence Associations Institute on Thursday. \u201cWe\u2019re going to evaluate those and based on the evaluation that the public service does on those, we\u2019ll make a decision on how we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinion: Canada\u2019s submarine conundrum: Buying a few boats is harder than it looks<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Fuhr added that \u201cthings can change,\u201d but \u201cright now, I\u2019m aware of one partner [getting the contract].\u201d<\/p>\n

The companies bidding for the contract, worth up to $24-billion, told The Globe on Tuesday that they would support any decision by Ottawa<\/a> to split the contract.<\/p>\n

Final proposals for the contract were submitted to the federal government on Monday. A decision is expected later this year.<\/p>\n

Mr. Fuhr would not be pinned down on whether the decision will be made by June, a timeframe that has been widely mentioned. The decision is a test case for how quickly the government can approve large defence-equipment purchases. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe political arm is removed at this stage. So, the bureaucracy is going to go through those procurement returns, and they\u2019ll take as long as they take,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, told the same audience that it would be more efficient to have a fleet from one provider.<\/p>\n

Submarine bidders open to Ottawa splitting contract, say procurement speed setting new standard<\/a><\/p>\n

The final bids submitted by the two contenders range from around 1,000 to 1,500 pages each. Over the next four to six weeks, federal government officials will be busy reading them and returning to the companies with questions.<\/p>\n

The new modern fleet of submarines would replace the navy\u2019s current aging fleet of second-hand Victoria-class boats. <\/p>\n

Two senior government sources told The Globe that one option under consideration is for Ottawa to buy six Type-212CD submarines to be built by Germany\u2019s TKMS. Those submarines would patrol the Atlantic Coast, the sources said. Ottawa would also acquire six Hanwha KSS-III Batch-II submarines. The sources say those submarines would be located on the Pacific coast and could be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. <\/p>\n

The Globe is not identifying the two government sources, who were not authorized to discuss details of the competition.<\/p>\n

Part of Hanwha\u2019s pitch is that some of its submarines are already built and in the water. Additional submarines are currently being built. The TKMS submarines are not yet in the water, although construction has started.<\/p>\n

Hanwha said it could deliver the first boat by 2032 and four additional boats by 2035. TKMS has said the company could deliver its first submarine well in advance of 2035.<\/p>\n

Defence experts have raised concerns that splitting Ottawa\u2019s submarine contract could complicate supply chains and parts inventories. In September, Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> also raised doubts about a mixed fleet, saying you get \u201cmany efficiencies in economies of having one fleet.\u201d <\/p>\n

The two government sources said Ottawa will assess the bids, including whether to split the contract, on the basis of what best serves the country\u2019s economic and military needs.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s submarine choice could break tradition, embrace South Korea in Indo-Pacific shift<\/a><\/p>\n

A final decision will involve more than just acquiring new submarines. Mr. Carney is looking for greater trade and economic ties with Europe and Asia as a way to reduce reliance on the United States.<\/p>\n

The sources say the benefit of splitting the contract is that Canada would reap industrial benefits from both bidders, including possible investments in this country\u2019s auto industry. Canada\u2019s auto sector has been hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs, as have the country\u2019s steel and aluminum industries. <\/p>\n

Both Hanwha and Germany\u2019s TKMS are trying to make their proposals more attractive by increasing their commitments to benefit Canada, including local jobs and manufacturing and supply contracts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney climbs down a ladder into a submarine during a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,714],"class_list":["post-516868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}