The Prime Minister, Christine Fréchette, believes that French President Emmanuel Macron “can be an influential actor” in the choice of the city that will host the headquarters of the Defense Bank. She plans to address the issue during her meeting with him on Monday.
“The more influential international actors we convince, the more favorable it will be,” said Christine Fréchette in a press briefing on Sunday in Paris.
The Prime Minister said she will “promote the candidacy of Montreal” and its strengths, “including expertise in the field of finance and also the defense ecosystem.”
“It is certain that Prime Minister Mark Carney will be the most decisive in this,” she added.
Also present at Mrs. Fréchette’s press conference, Quebec’s General Delegate in Paris, Henri-Paul Rousseau, reminded that “in general, presidents of other countries do not interfere in the decisions of other presidents.”
“I don’t think Mr. Macron will play a role within Canada. So we have to understand that,” he added.
Following a meeting held from April 23 to 26 in Montreal with representatives from 18 countries, Canada was chosen to host the headquarters of the Defense, Security, and Resilience Bank.
In addition to Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa are vying for the headquarters of this bank, and the competition is fierce.
The Defense Bank would be a kind of international financing mechanism for defense, aiming to reduce borrowing costs for military spending.
It would thus meet a certain need, as a large number of Western countries including Canada are currently looking to increase their military budgets and make massive investments.
With information from Patrice Bergeron for La Presse Canadienne
