Canada Chooses European Submarine Consortium as Great Powers Era 2.0 Accelerates

Highlights

• Canada chose Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Norway to supply up to 12 next-generation submarines in a program worth over C$167 billion in economic activity.
• Modern submarines depend on rare earth elements for propulsion, sensors, and guidance systems, making critical mineral supply chains a core defense security issue.
• The award reflects a broader realignment of global alliances as NATO nations diversify procurement, strengthen regional industrial bases, and reduce reliance on single suppliers.
• Rare Earth Exchanges sees defense industrial policy and critical mineral policy rapidly converging as military readiness increasingly depends on who controls advanced materials.
• Great Powers Era 2.0 is reshaping security partnerships into resilient networks built around shared technology, industrial capacity, and strategic supply chain control.

Canada's decision to select Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), partnered with Norway, as the preferred supplier for up to 12 next-generation submarines represents far more than a fleet modernization program. It signals another milestone in the emergence of Great Powers Era 2.0, where defense procurement is increasingly driven by alliance resilience, industrial integration, Arctic security, and strategic supply chains rather than cost alone.

The agreement strengthens NATO interoperability at a time of growing uncertainty over transatlantic security commitments and expanding competition in the Arctic. Canadian officials estimate the program could generate more than C$167 billion in economic activity and support up to 100,000 jobs over coming decades while fundamentally reshaping Canada's naval capabilities.

For investors in the REEx community, however, the deeper story lies beneath the hull. Modern submarines rely on sophisticated electric propulsion, sensors, sonar, precision guidance systems, and advanced manufacturing—all of which depend directly or indirectly on secure supplies of rare earth elements and other critical minerals. As NATO nations accelerate defense spending, resilient ex-China supply chains for permanent magnets, specialty metals, and advanced materials become increasingly strategic.

Rare Earth Exchanges views this award as another example that defense industrial policy and critical mineral policy are rapidly converging. In Great Powers Era 2.0, military readiness will increasingly depend not only on shipyards and steel, but also on who controls the materials that power the technologies of modern warfare.

The Canada-TKMS agreement also illustrates a defining characteristic of Great Powers Era 2.0: the global alliance map is being redrawn. Long-standing security assumptions are giving way to more flexible, capability-driven partnerships as nations adapt to an increasingly multipolar world. Allies are diversifying defense procurement, strengthening regional industrial bases, and reducing dependence on any single supplier or geopolitical bloc. While traditional alliances such as NATO remain central, their internal dynamics are evolving as European nations assume greater defense responsibilities, Indo-Pacific partners become more closely linked to Atlantic security, and Arctic cooperation grows in strategic importance.

The result is not the end of alliances, but their transformation into what could emerge as more resilient networks built around shared technology, industrial capacity, critical mineral security, and strategic interests. In this new era, economic security and defense security have become inseparable, with supply chains emerging as vital instruments of national power alongside military capability. Be prepared for huge waves of deal making. We haven’t even started yet.

Register today: REEx Marketplace™ (opens in a new tab)