Canada selects Germany's TKMS to build new submarine fleet
Canada has selected Germany’s TKMS to build up to 12 new submarines to replace its aging four-boat fleet, choosing the Thyssenkrupp-owned shipbuilder — bidding jointly with Norway — over South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean. The submarines alone are estimated at C$20–30 billion, rising to C$40–50 billion including decades of maintenance and upgrades. First deliveries are targeted for 2034.
Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the purchase around building “at speed and scale” with “German and Norwegian Allies,” tying the procurement to NATO partnership and reduced dependence on any single supplier. The alliance framing is deliberate: Canada has already met NATO’s 2% of GDP defense target and is under pressure — including from Washington — to spend further toward the bloc’s newer 5% goal.
The choice also reshapes the export contest among submarine builders. Hanwha had pitched Korean speed and cost; awarding the work to a German-Norwegian bid keeps the program inside the European-NATO industrial base and signals where Ottawa wants its long-term defense supply chains anchored.