$6-billion defence contracts would support ‘significant job creation’ at Brampton vehicle plant, mayor says

The city is throwing its support behind a Brampton-based armoured vehicle manufacturer as it chases a pair of Canadian military contracts worth up to a possible $5.99 billion.

Roshel is one of the largest manufacturers of smart armoured vehicles in North America, and has a $65-million manufacturing plant in the city where it builds products including the Senator armoured vehicle.

The company, which signed a deal last week to jointly develop a family of protected and armoured military vehicles for NATO, is also actively pursuing a pair of Government of Canada contracts worth up to nearly $6 billion – contacts the city supports and says “would support Brampton jobs.”

One contract is for the Light Utility Vehicle program, which will replace Canada’s aging fleet of wheeled vehicles like the Mercedes G-Wagon SMP, with a value of between $1 billion to $4.99 billion.

The second bid is for the Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement project – an amphibious, high mobility vehicle that can protect its occupants from extreme environmental conditions. The bid is for four variants of the vehicle – a command post, troop carrier, a cargo and equipment hauler, and an ambulance – with a value between $500 million to $1 billion.

On Wednesday, Brampton City Council unanimously approved a motion put forward by Mayor Patrick Brown in support of Roshel’s bid for the projects “and to strongly encourage the Government of Canada to select Roshel to deliver these full programs as early as 2026.”

READ MORE: Minister of National Defence visits armoured car maker in Brampton slammed by anti-war activists

“We’re in the runnings with Ingersoll and Oshawa for this contact that would mean significant job creation in the city of Brampton,” Brown said during the council meeting on Wednesday.

Roshel says some 2,500 of its Senator vehicles have been sent in support of Ukraine since 2022 to aid in the defence from invading Russian forces. The vehicle can support weapons systems including a 7.62 mm machine gun, and can also be equipped with mine-resistant technology that can withstand up to a 6 kg explosive.

The company’s recent memorandum of understanding with Daimler aims to cooperate on protected and armoured vehicle programs across NATO, European, North American, and allied markets.

And while Roshel received praise from Brown on Wednesday for its contacts with NASA, the company has also come under fire from activist group World Beyond War Canada for its sale of at least 20 Senator vehicles to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid escalating violence and clashes with the public on American streets.

World Beyond War held a protest outside Roshel to connect with workers at shift-change while “highlighting Roshel’s complicity” in global conflicts, one attendee told INsauga.com after the demonstration.