Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada suggested Toronto is exploiting \u201cfear,\u201d as did the province\u2019s minister for Canadian relations, Postmedia reported later Thursday<\/a>. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the leader of the pro-independence Parti Quebecois, said Toronto had put forward \u201cunacceptable arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n La Presse, meanwhile, suggested the issue is dividing Liberal MPs from Ontario and Quebec.<\/p>\n Asked for comment, Hannah Jensen, a representative for the premier\u2019s office, pointed the Toronto Sun to a statement by Premier Doug Ford that says Toronto, Ontario and Canada \u201chave everything the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank needs to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf Canada is going to seriously compete to be the home of the DSRB, we need to make the best case possible to our allies. There can only be one choice for Canada: Toronto,\u201d Ford said. (Canada was chosen to be the host country late last month.)<\/p>\n While the province shared with the Sun a 20-page document<\/a> from December 2025 \u2013 which includes those remarks by Ford and twice features the phrase \u201cpolitical stability\u201d \u2013 La Presse reported that the city and province prepared a 110-page document.<\/p>\n Asked about that discrepancy, Jensen said she couldn\u2019t say because La Presse didn\u2019t reach out to the premier\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The City of Toronto also provided that 20-page document to the Sun, and had no explanation about a reported 110-page version.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city is an active partner to the province, which is leading the effort to make Toronto the headquarters of the DSRB,\u201d City Hall said in a brief statement.<\/p>\n Some political leaders in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec have been put off by Toronto\u2019s tactics in trying to host the multinational defence bank.<\/p>\n Referendums \u2018not new\u2019<\/p>\n The federal government will decide which city will be the home of the defence bank, which is meant to fund projects for NATO members and allies, such as those related to security, that traditional lenders might shy away from.<\/p>\n It\u2019s expected the defence bank would create 3,500 specialized, high-pay jobs.<\/p>\n The 20-page pro-Toronto document pitches the city as an ideal host because of its financial sector, tech expertise and global connectivity.<\/p>\n It also makes a point to differentiate Toronto from Montreal specifically.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Montreal is a vital national economic centre and an important partner in Canada\u2019s defence and innovation ecosystem, Toronto aligns more closely with the specific operational, financial and talent requirements of the DSRB,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n Toronto is \u201cfree of additional language or cultural compliance requirements,\u201d the document adds. \u201cIt also has unparalleled political stability, both on a national and global scale.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/171ae50aeaa0a48d0d18cfa824fc26ad.jpeg\"\/)
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