Premier says N.S. is ready for the economic boom expected from Canada's new subs

Prime Minister Mark Carney looks over a 212A class submarine under maintenance as he tours Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), a submarine building facility in Kiel, Germany on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s premier says the province is ready with the infrastructure and people needed to handle the expected economic boom associated with Canada’s new submarine fleet.

Tim Houston says officials in Nova Scotia, home to the country’s largest naval base in Halifax, were aware that the new submarines were coming and have been preparing the province’s infrastructure.

He says the provincial government has been investing in housing, health care and skilled trades training, in part to handle the growing defence investments.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Halifax on Monday to announce German firm TKMS as the preferred bidder to build up to 12 new submarines for Canada.

The new submarines are expected to increase the number of sailors, maintenance workers and suppliers in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., the navy’s home on the West Coast.

Carney said the construction of navy ships has changed Halifax in recent years, and the new submarines will mean substantial activity in the city for decades to come.

“We’ve had these plans, we’ve been executing on these plans, and now we have a prime minister who sees the value,” Houston told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

Devin Stevens, The Canadian Press