Thales to establish digital excellence center in Canada
Canada will be the site of Thales Group’s National Digital Excellence Centre (NDEC) and North America cybersecurity operation.
The facility, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, is expected to contribute up to $63 million in direct provincial gross domestic over five years, according to a provincial government announcement.
Arlene Dunn, the government minister responsible for Opportunities NB, comments that France-based Thales should feel comfortable in New Brunswick, which is Canada’s only bilingual province, English and French.
New Brunswick “is purposefully looking to strengthen our economic and cultural ties with France.” Thales’ decision to expand to the province “is a testament to the strength of our existing cybersecurity ecosystem and our working relationship with France and the United Kingdom.”
An economic development agency for the province, Opportunities NB is investing up to CA$5.5 million (US$4 million) over five years to support the center.
Meanwhile, the federal government has pledged $3 million ($2.2 million) for the two centers in the Fredericton area. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is providing $1.8 million to assist the University of New Brunswick’s McKenna Institute in developing new cybersecurity and digital resilience programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, ACOA is contributing more than $1.2 million ($886,000) to regional economic development agency Ignite in the design and establishment of the New Brunswick center.
The center should create 110 new jobs and act as a research and talent hub for Canada, Thales says.
“We will collaborate across a talent-rich innovation value chain – educational institutions, academia, startups, small and medium-sized businesses, industry, and governments – to develop the cyber technologies, capabilities and resilience,” adds Chris Pogue, CEO of Thales Canada.
Thales recently opened its first design center in Noida, India. According to the company, the center will create new products and services and facilitate partnerships with customers, other companies and academia. Thales also has design centers in Europe, Latin America, North America, the Middle East and Singapore.
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