A new global intelligence and cybersecurity centre spearheaded by the federal government and Mastercard is coming to Vancouver.

The announcement was made today at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, met with Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard.

The company’s investment of $510 million (of which $420 million is eligible under the Strategic Innovation Fund), also includes $49 million of funding from the Government of Canada.

The centre’s main focus will be to “create technologies and standards to ensure that Canadians and others around the world can safely use any device that could be connected to the Internet—phone, tablet, computer, vehicle—without concern that their personal and financial information could be stolen.”

According to Bains, the centre will help establish Canada as “a world leader in cybersecurity” while helping “tackle the cost of cybercrime” in the country, which is estimated at $3 billion per year.

The new centre is projected to create and maintain a total of 380 jobs as well as 100 student co-op positions

In making the announcement, Bains said the project is a 10-year commitment by Mastercard, and that the $510 million “is promoting investment in skills, research and development, product dev and deployment – to look at how Mastercard can develop its excellence, creating software apps and development tools, etc.”

With a targeted completion date of June 30, 2024, the project is in accordance with the federal government’s National Cyber Security Strategy.

“As Canadians use connected devices more and more, including for sensitive financial services like banking, they want to know that their data and privacy are protected,” said Bains.

“Our government is investing in a new cybersecurity centre in Canada to develop the technology solutions Canadians and people all over the world need to protect their personal and financial information when they use their devices.”