Nearly $5-billion military contract narrows to include Brampton armoured vehicle maker

A Brampton-based armoured vehicle manufacturer is one of two Canadian companies in the running for a nearly $5-billion military contract, according to reports.

The bid 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, Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this month that the selection had been narrowed to two Canadian companies – one of which is Brampton’s Roshel Inc., according to multiple reports.

The company has exclusively sold to other countries and international law enforcement agencies and, if won, the contract would be its first deal with the Canadian government.

Carney says the winning company will deliver 1,600 to 2,100 vehicles and 400 to 500 light utility trailers “for the militarised portion of the Canadian Armed Forces’ fleet.”

Some 2,500 of Roshel’s Senator armoured 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.

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

It’s no secret that the company has been seeking the Light Utility Vehicle contract, with the City of Brampton unanimously approving a motion last month put forward by Mayor Patrick Brown in support of Roshel’s bid for two projects with a possible value of nearly $6 billion.

The company signed a recent memorandum of understanding with Daimler Truck AG to jointly develop a family of protected and armoured military vehicles for NATO, allied, and partner-nation customers.

Narrowing the companies involved in the Light Utility Vehicle bid comes amid a wave of increased military spending under Carney, including an $800 million contract with Norwegian company Kongsberg to acquire joint strike missiles to be used by future Royal Canadian Air Force fighter jets, like F-35s.

The feds have also named ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as the bidder to develop the navy’s next fleet of submarines.

A recent NATO report showed Canada is spending roughly two per cent of its GDP on national defence — a key NATO alliance benchmark Ottawa previously failed to meet — for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Roshel is one of the largest manufacturers of smart armoured vehicles in North America, and has a $65-million manufacturing plant in Brampton.

The company has 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.