Montreal entrepreneurs launch push for Defence Bank

The business community is mobilizing in Montreal to obtain the headquarters of the Banque de la défense, de la sécurité et de la résilience (Banque DSR): developers are proposing a turnkey solution, a brand-new building, to accommodate the new institution that Montreal covets.

They hope to give advantages to the Quebec metropolis, which must compete with Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto, while the Ontario government says it has already found a location.

In Montreal, the group of three companies, Sid Lee Architecture, Rosefellow and the Tsaas Group, converted a tower project planned for a downtown hotel, Place du Canada, to accommodate the DSR Bank on a few floors.

The bill would amount to $200 million and the project could be completed in 36 months.

In an interview with The Canadian Press on Thursday, Sid Lee Architecture’s architect and co-founder, Martin Leblanc, said no one asked the developers to look into the DSR Bank scenario, but that it was their way of contributing to Montreal’s bid.

The previous project was already completed, and the funding was already secured, but his group embarked on the adventure anyway.

“We want Montreal to stay in the race,” he said. “We’re going to give (Montreal) one more card.”

He called for public-private collaboration, particularly with the City of Montreal and Investissement Québec.

“It’s a call for partnership. Let’s stop putting a spanner in the works, let’s forge links together,” he said, hoping for better coordination and concordance in Quebec, federal and city regulations.

According to him, an international organization like Banque DSR, to mark its arrival and make itself known, may be looking for a distinctive, modern, safe, well-located building, accessible by public transportation, a “complete address” that also offers accommodation, but also services all around.

The tower would rise above an iconic Montreal institution, the Dominion Tavern, which would be integrated into the project.

Toronto in the running

Montreal will have to show all its strengths in this race, which could be close.

However, it was in Montreal, in April, during an international meeting, that the representatives of 18 states chose Canada to host the headquarters of the DSR Bank… But it remains for the federal government to choose the host city.

Christine Fréchette’s government is pushing for the city to be favoured, but Doug Ford’s government in Ontario is playing its cards.

In May, we learned that Ontario promoters, behind the scenes, were promoting Toronto’s stability to highlight the threat to Quebec’s future if the Parti Québécois, ahead in the polls, forms the next government in the October election and holds a referendum on independence.

The Ontario government has already found a temporary location for the bank and will help it find a permanent one, Ford said.

He said Toronto was the only city in the country that could offer everything the bank requires, with a “world-class” workforce, banking expertise and an airport with direct connections all over the world.

Ford said the federal government had not provided him with any details about the criteria that will be used to select the host city.

The Ottawa-Gatineau region is also in the running. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien issued a letter in February in support of the National Capital Region, and the mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau have added their voices.

The B.C. government of David Eby has capitalized on Vancouver’s “strategic advantages” as a link between the Bank’s member states and “key allies in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Fréchette’s plea

For her part, Premier Fréchette argued that Montreal “needs this organization” and that it has “expertise in finance, expertise in defence, as well as the aerospace industry,” in addition to having a “multilingual” population.

She delivered her plea to Prime Minister Mark Carney himself, in addition to “presenting the assets of Montreal’s candidacy” to French President Emmanuel Macron in May in Paris, a “player of influence” according to her, but who has not stepped into the delicate terrain of a Canadian domestic political debate.

A group coordinated by Finance Montréal is also actively promoting the city’s choice.

Fréchette has already mentioned 3,000 potential jobs with the eventual arrival of this bank.

But in an interview with Radio-Canada, Canada’s chief negotiator in the DSR Bank file, Isabelle Hudon, was more cautious and refused to confirm such a high number of jobs.

Leblanc said 1,500 to 2,000 people could work in the spaces his group has designed to house the bank.

The Defence Bank would be a kind of international defence financing mechanism, aimed at reducing borrowing costs for military spending for NATO members and allies.

This would meet a certain need, as a large number of Western states, including Canada, are currently increasing their military budgets and making massive investments.

“This funding will provide benefits to member governments and defence companies, specifically small and medium-sized enterprises,” the federal government said.

Also, “the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank will also help strengthen collaboration with like-minded allies and partners on defence and security, and support member countries in their efforts to increase defence investment,” it said.

In 2017, the Liberal government of Philippe Couillard wanted to obtain the headquarters of the Federal Infrastructure Bank for Montreal, but was overtaken by… Toronto. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) denounced this “bitter defeat” at the time.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews