Anand says joining SAFE defence borrowing pact will help Canadian firms compete

OTTAWA — The European Parliament formally welcomed Canada into the defence borrowing and procurement agreement known as SAFE on Wednesday — making it the only non-European country to join.

The European Parliament passed a final vote Wednesday to greenlight Canada’s participation in the Security Action for Europe agreement, which is worth the equivalent of C$240 billion.

The program, which allows member countries to access low-interest loans for military hardware, is part of a broader initiative called ReArm Europe aimed at reducing the continent’s military reliance on the United States.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand hailed it as an important step, saying Canadian companies will now be able to participate in procurement competitions typically open only to European firms.

“It is quite an innovation for Canada to be part of the SAFE and so this move today … is very important,” Anand said on a media call from Estonia on Wednesday.

“Canadian companies are going to be able to participate in procurements typically available only to EU companies, on the same level and the same terms as those companies. And so this is an advantage obviously for Canadian companies.”

Achim Hurrelmann, co-director of the Centre for European Studies at Carleton University, said what matters now is ensuring Canadian businesses get involved in European defence procurement.

“Canada’s participation must now be filled with life through the development of defence procurement initiatives that involve Canadian firms,” Hurrelmann said in an email to The Canadian Press.

SAFE allows Canadian companies to partner with European firms to bid on joint projects and access favourable financing.

Canadian firms can do so under SAFE’s “common” procurement provision, which requires the involvement of at least one EU member state receiving financial assistance and an additional EU member state or Ukraine.

The idea is to push countries to work together to fill “urgent” gaps in their stockpiles, especially material depleted by the war in Ukraine.

Defence Minister David McGuinty also talked up the agreement at CIBC’s Defence and Resiliency Summit in Toronto on Wednesday. He called it a “major marketplace for us.”

Canada officially signed on to the European procurement program in February at the Munich Security Conference.

Canada’s entry into the agreement is expected to involve paying a large fee, worth the equivalent of C$16 million. That would include an upfront 2.5 million euro administrative fee and 7.5 million euro annual participation contribution.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2026.

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press