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| 2026-02-08 06:00:07
(Yonhap Interview) Canadian defense procurement chief
(Yonhap Interview) Auto 'good place to start' for submarine bid package: Canadian defense procurement chief
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- Canada's top point man on defense procurement has proposed South Korea offer measures to support Ottawa's faltering auto industry in a package deal to clinch Canada's landmark naval submarine project, stressing that auto will be a "good place to start."
Stephen Fuhr, Canada's secretary of state for defense procurement, made the remarks as he recently visited South Korea just weeks ahead of the deadline early next month to submit the proposal for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, valued at around 60 trillion won (US$41 billion).
A consortium of South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. has been shortlisted as one of the final two contenders, alongside Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, to build up to 12 3,000-ton class submarines to replace Canada's aging Victoria-class fleet.
"Canada right now is being affected by the U.S. in sectors ... auto in this case, it's a big deal for us, our auto sector is suffering big time," Fuhr said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday.
"So our hope is when you're putting together a financial bid package ... auto would be a good place to start. Given the fact that they're both OEMs, we're hoping that they'll put something in that bid that addresses one of our problems right now."
Both final contenders are expected to propose a massive investment package as part of the submarine bid to woo Canada as it seeks to bank on the deal for economic growth and to prop up sectors like the auto industry that have been hard hit by U.S. tariffs.
Canada has reportedly expressed its interest in a car plant but industry watchers have raised questions over the plan, noting how automotive giant Hyundai Motor Co. shuttered its Canadian assembly plant in Quebec in 1993 after a four-year run.
Fuhr acknowledged the case, but noted how situations have changed over time in apparent support of such a plan.
"Our world is essentially completely different than it was 12 months ago," he said. "The companies and the countries are best suited to see what they can do. They know what's happening and hopefully, they'll put something together that we find attractive."
While touting South Korea's shipbuilding capacity as being "unmatched on the planet," Fuhr stressed that both South Korean and German companies fulfill high-level mandatory requirements for submarine capabilities and that the "big deciding factor" would be which side offers the "maximum economic benefit" to Canada.
"I feel really good about this because you know both options are really good. It's really going to come down to who can help us solve one of our other problems right now, which is our economic security," he said.
Against such a backdrop, the top official said Canada is "trying to go as fast we can" in a bid to make a decision this year.
Going beyond the submarine project, the defense procurement chief stressed that Canada hopes to carve out a decadeslong partnership with the final winner.
"We are also looking for a partner, right? So this is going to be a mutually beneficial relationship for decades and decades, but we want to participate in the sub and its future development moving forward," he said. "I mean, the sub we get today won't be the sub that we have in 20 years or 30 years. It will develop and grow."
Noting how the Canadian delegation that accompanied him to South Korea comprises companies in areas that South Korea and Canada could potentially cooperate in, Fuhr noted how the two countries should work together as "middle powers."
"The U.S. doesn't want to operate like it used to operate, so middle powers have to come together to fill that space ... And a good way to start that is starting to work with people you already know and you already work with," he said, noting how the two countries inked a free trade agreement in 2015 and recently signed a defense and security agreement last year.
"We want to work with South Korea in ways that we haven't before," he said. "We have things that South Korea wants. You have things that we want ... So where we can help each other, this is all the stuff on the table and this is over and above submarines."
Fuhr, who described himself as a technology "geek," recalled his visit to a Hanwha shipyard to board a 3,600-ton Jang Bogo-III Batch-II submarine as "incredible," specifically mentioning the vessel's hydrogen fuel cell and air-independent propulsion system.
"This is new technology which really gives diesel electric subs a whole new capability that they didn't have before. So this is groundbreaking."
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