Canada chose German maritime defense group ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) to build a new 12-submarine fleet for the country, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday.
The deal, described as the largest Canadian defense purchase ever, comes at the end of a months-long bidding contest between TKMS and South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project — which seeks to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging submarine fleet.
The deal will see Canada purchase a fleet of TKMS’ 212CD sub marines, developed by Germany and Norway’s navies, and described by the Canadian government as one of the stealthiest submarines in the world. The first four deliveries are expected by 2034.
Carney made the announcement speaking at Canadian Forces Base Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Office of the Canadian Prime Minister detailed that Canada and TKMS will now enter in negotiations to finalize the contracts and all required arrangements.
Sailors on the deck of the HMCS Corner Brook, one of the Canadian Navy’s four long-range UK-built hunter-killer submarines, at the Defence on the Dock event in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. All four will now be replaced by an expanded fleet of German-made boats. (James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“These subs will strengthen our defense industrial base, they will deepen our partnerships with trusted allies, and they will open new opportunities for Canadian businesses in European supply chains,” Carney said during the announcement, per CTV News.
Despite having the longest coastline in the world, Canada only counts with a fleet of four aging Victoria-class submarines, purchased secondhand from the United Kingdom in 1998 — however, the Canadian government acknowledged that three of the submarines are undergoing maintenance and only one is currently seaworthy.
“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada must be prepared to defend our interests, protect our citizens, build our economy, and secure our future,” Carney said on Monday. “To that end, we are making the largest defense procurement in our nation’s history with speed, ambition, and discipline.”
“Canada’s next submarine fleet will secure our coastlines and waters, and their construction will have enormous, lasting benefits for Canadian industries and workers,” he added.
While no overall cost for the submarines was disclosed on Monday, public broadcaster CBC reports that it is believed that the purchase of the submarines could run up to 24 billion Canadian dollars (roughly $16.8 billion), with lifetime maintenance and sustainment costs pushing costs to upwards of $100 billion or more.
TKMS, for its part, detailed in an official statement that the final proposal will generate 167 billion Canadian dollars (roughly $117 billion) in total economic activity across Canada, over 86 billion Canadian dollars (roughly $60.4 billion) in economic impact, and over 650,000 jobs during the life of the project.
“This is a strong signal for our transatlantic and European partnership: Canada is procuring German-Norwegian 212CD-class submarines,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on a social media post celebrating the announcement. “Thank you for your trust, Mark Carney and [Norwegian Prime Minister] Jonas Gahr Støre.”
The Canadian government pointed out that should negotiations with TKMS end up unsuccessful, Canada retains the right to enter negotiations with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean for the project.
The BBC noted that the announcement was issued right before Prime Minister Carney travelled to Ankara, Turkey, to participate in this week’s NATO Summit. Per the BBC, Canada has raised its defense spending to two percent of its GDP, and has committed to comply with NATO’s five percent defense spending goals by 2035.
Canada’s selection of TKMS comes two years after the country announced in July 2024 that it was seeking a contractor to build a new submarine fleet. The company’s connection to NATO was reportedly a key factor that played in favor of its selection.