TSAMTO, September 23. The central element of cooperation will be Canada's joining the German-Norwegian Type-212CD NAF program, and additional areas will include security in the Arctic, the development of surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, military space, and cooperation between defense companies.
The relevant agreements were reached following a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stere in Ottawa on September 20. The parties stated that Canada's participation in the Type-212CD program should ensure the expansion of military, industrial and technological cooperation between the two countries.
Canada previously selected the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred supplier in the framework of the Patrol Submarine Procurement Project (CPSP). The TKMS proposal provides for the supply of Type-212CD submarines designed for the German and Norwegian Navies to the Canadian Navy. At the current stage, the parties are continuing negotiations on contractual, industrial and organizational parameters of the Canadian program.
After the CPSP negotiations are completed, the Governments of Canada and Norway plan to begin preparing an expanded defense cooperation agreement. The document should develop the provisions of the bilateral memorandum on defense cooperation signed in 2023 and form the legal basis for subsequent cooperation, including the implementation of joint military-technical projects.
The naval component of the cooperation will include the unification of platforms, the development of interoperability, the training of personnel, maintenance and logistical support for the submarine forces. Canada's accession to the German-Norwegian program provides for the use of submarines of the same type by three NATO countries and the joint development of related technical and operational solutions.
A separate block of agreements concerns the Arctic. Canada and Norway are creating a bilateral Arctic dialogue, which provides for coordination on strategic surveillance, situation reporting, interoperability, as well as research and development activities.
Practical cooperation in the region is also carried out through the Coast Guard. In June 2026, the Canadian and Norwegian Coast Guard commands signed a partnership agreement, after which they conducted joint combat training activities in Canadian and Norwegian Arctic waters.
In the industrial part of the joint statement, the activities of the Norwegian Kongsberg group, which is involved in the creation of the combat information and control system (BIOS) for the Type-212CD submarine, were separately noted. The company invested 76.5 million Canadian dollars. to establish a Center of Excellence in Marine Modeling in collaboration with the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Kongsberg has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian company OSI Maritime Systems. The document provides for the development of cooperation in the field of marine systems and the formation of national competencies in Canada related to the creation and operation of appropriate equipment.
Another area of bilateral industrial cooperation is the design of icebreaking vessels and ice-class vessels. The Norwegian company Vard and its Canadian division Vard Marine participate in Canadian shipbuilding programs. Vard Marine has developed the initial designs of Arctic patrol ships for the Canadian Navy and one of the Canadian Coast Guard's polar icebreakers.
Canada and Norway are also expanding cooperation in the space sector. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) have finalized a memorandum of cooperation in the field of space and dual-use technologies, designed, among other things, to support activities in the Arctic and northern regions.
The Canadian Ministry of Defense and the Norwegian Ministry of Defense continue to implement the letter of intent signed in March 2026. It is planned to increase the compatibility of national satellite systems and develop operationally deployable space assets using the combined technical resources of the two countries.
In order to develop this area, Kongsberg and the Canadian MDA Space signed a memorandum of understanding on multi-sphere facilities and space exploration, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. The list of proposed areas includes the creation of solutions for lighting the marine environment in the Arctic.
Kongsberg has also entered into an agreement with Canadian Telesat to explore the possibilities of using the low-orbit satellite constellation (LEO) Lightspeed. The integration of satellite communication channels into ISR systems and other military and dual-use solutions is being considered.
