Washington – Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, concluded a successful visit to Washington, D.C. As both Canada and the United States depend on strong trade relationships and shared security objectives, this visit aimed at reinforcing the cooperation between the 2 countries and the importance of building and maintaining resilient supply chains, especially in the Canadian defence sector.
While in Washington, Minister Duclos met with officials from the U.S. government and strategic defence and aerospace industry representatives. These meetings were aimed at promoting and advancing shared Canada-U.S. economic and security priorities. The new funding allocated to defence in Budget 2024 builds on unprecedented investments made to date by the government to support the members of our Armed Forces, strengthen Canada’s defence capabilities and address global challenges. Canadian industry must be able to play a key role in existing and future partnerships with our U.S. neighbours. The viability of our domestic supply chains depends on it.
As highlighted in Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, the Government of Canada intends to reform defence procurement, including enabling increased use of government-to-government arrangements, where it makes sense to develop strategic partnerships with Canada’s allies, and especially the U.S..
Minister Duclos also took the opportunity to meet with Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s Ambassador to the United States of America, as well as Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) Washington Sector, to discuss how to better advance this priority and highlight the important role the Ambassador and the Sector will play in supporting Canada’s defence procurement objectives with the U.S. government.
“In the face of rapidly changing and increasingly complex threats to global security, it’s more important than ever to strengthen our partnerships with our neighbour and closest partner. These meetings confirmed our mutual economic interests and common security priorities in maintaining a strong defence and aerospace industry in North America. This reinforces Canada’s key role in safety and security while ensuring opportunities for Canadian industry and highly skilled and well-paid jobs in Canada.” – Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement