Days after Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushed for Toronto to be chosen to host a new international defence bank, one of his top cabinet colleagues said Thursday he also believes the country’s largest city is the right choice for the institution. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, told reporters in […]
Days after Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushed for Toronto to be chosen to host a new international defence bank, one of his top cabinet colleagues said Thursday he also believes the country’s largest city is the right choice for the institution.
Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, told reporters in Ottawa that Toronto is the second-largest financial centre in North America after New York City and deserves to be the bank’s headquarters.
“We believe that the defence bank should end up in the city of Toronto,” Fedeli said during a news conference at Ross Video’s offices in Ottawa’s south end.
Fedeli’s remarks come just over a week after Ford threw his support behind Toronto as the best home for the multinational Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB).
“There’s only one city in Canada that can truly provide everything the bank needs, and that city is Toronto,” Ford said during an appearance at Toronto Metropolitan University on May 12.
Last month, Canada was confirmed as the host of the bank, which could eventually employ as many as 3,500 people. Five cities – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax – are lobbying to land the DSRB’s headquarters, and it will be up to the federal government to make the final call.
Local civic and business leaders, including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, have said Ottawa, with its concentration of defence-tech enterprises and global embassies, would be a natural fit for the organization, which is modelled on the World Bank and will provide NATO members and allies with “long-term, low-cost financing for defence, security and resilience initiatives,” according to a federal government release.
In an interview with OBJ earlier this month, Calian Group CEO Patrick Houston said landing the bank would mean “a lot of jobs” for the local economy.
“That would be great,” he added. “I think it would attract a different type of executive and people to do these types of jobs, which I think would also be great.”
However, Fedeli said that while he thinks Ottawa “has a tremendous amount to contribute to the province of Ontario” as a tech hub, Toronto would be a better location for the DSRB.
“We’re putting our money behind Ottawa in the tech sector, and we believe the bank should be in Toronto,” he said. 
