Glenn Copeland, CEO of Hanwha Defence Canada, says Ottawa wants the bid to build the Canada’s next submarine fleet to revitalize domestic industries hit hard by U.S.-trade uncertainty.

“Simply said: give us your best economic package,” said Copeland, who sat down for a conversation with iPolitics’ editor-in-chief Marco Vigliotti. “The economic package came about as the stressors that were placed on the prevailing situation relative to the lack of trade, or the lack of certainty that we’ve had with the U.S.”

Copeland became the managing director and CEO of Hanwha Defence Canada in early 2026. He’s taken the lead on securing a deal on the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project for the new Ottawa-based subsidiary of South Korean defence giant Hanwha Oceans.

Hanwha is locked in a battle with German maritime defence company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) over who will get to build Canada’s next fleet of 12 under-ice capable submarines. The contract will be worth tens of billions of dollars for the bidder that wins it, but both companies say that a deal would also mean a longer-term relationship to create initiatives in economic sectors like steel, mining and defence.

“One of our partners early on is PCL, the construction company,” Copeland told iPolitics. “They’re all over Canada, but a team out West is going to wind up building the infrastructure on both coasts, in Esquimalt, in Halifax.”

According to its website, Hanwha Oceans can commit to delivering four submarines to Canada by 2035, assuming it is awarded the contract. The first of the four would be ready to go in 2032. The projected delivery date for the entire 12-ship fleet is 2043. Canada will retire its current four subs in 2035 and has set a deadline for the delivery of at least one new vessel in that same year.

Copeland says that Hanwha’s investment in Canada, if accepted, would span steel companies, Quebec mining operations, facilities on the East and West coasts and even improving Canadian space capabilities.

“Let’s see what we can do to accelerate Canada’s development of an indigenous launch capability,” he said. The company has recently signed strategic agreements with Algoma Steel, space communications companies Telesat and MDA Space and several other Canadian firms.

Hanwha’s website claims its plan would involve more than 100 Canadian companies and more than 40 formal partners, including universities. It could lead to an investment of up to $345 million in Algoma Steel, a company deeply impacted by the U.S. trade war.

Hanwha Corporation also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association in April, pledging to build armoured vehicles in Canada after a successful submarine bid.

Choosing the South Korean company would be a shift in how Canada spends its defence dollars. Last year, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that more than 70 cents of every dollar in Canadian military capital spending goes to the United States. TKMS has extensive partnerships to build ships for NATO countries already.

“For Hanwha, it’s a relatively new entry market for us in defence in Canada,” Copeland said. “You know the other big primes that have been here for a long time, the Tier Ones from Europe and the U.S.”

Hanwha’s competitor, a partnership between TKMS and the governments of Germany and Norway, also says that its successful bid would lead to a strong industrial base in Canada.

“TKMS is partnering with Canadian suppliers, shipyards and academic institutions,” reads the company’s website. The European partnership has also been signing strategic agreements with Canadian institutions like Quebec machinery manufacturer Marmen and the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Applied Science.

TKMS has said its subs will be ready by the 2035 deadline.

Canadian officials have been emphasizing the important of long-term investment in our country as they weigh the pros and cons of each submarine bid. The Prime Minister and Defence Minister David McGuinty toured a Hanwha manufacturing facility in South Korea last October. The two made a similar visit to a TKMS shipyard in August.

Copeland says Industry Minister Melanie Joly made it clear that a pan-industry approach would make whichever bid more attractive.

“Minister Jolie said if you can bring an auto assembly plant to Canada to help shore up the entire sector that would go a long way to helping your team,” Copeland said. “I’m paraphrasing, but basically, that message was dropped and it was loud and clear.”

The Canadian government is pursuing these new submarines as a better way to protect and operate in the Arctic, which will soon become one of the most-trafficked sea routes on earth due to melting summer ice.

As northern waters warm, the race to provide the subs to traverse them is heating up as well. Hanwha and TKMS submitted their final, updated proposals at the end of April and the feds could make their decision as soon as June, before the summer adjournment of parliament.