As he delivered the hard sell pitch last spring for Canada to buy his submarines, Oliver Burkhard, the CEO Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (tkMS), used the phrase "strategic partnership" half a dozen times.

It was announced Tuesday that Canada had narrowed the list of contenders to build the navy's new submarines to two bidders — TKMS and South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Ltd

The prime minister met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and is slated to participate in a business roundtable with the goal of diversifying Canada's trade and coming up with a critical minerals partnership.