Canada to Invest More Than $8 Billion in Six New Arctic Icebreakers

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Canada’s new Arctic icebreaker programme

As part of its efforts to strengthen its Arctic surveillance and power-projection capabilities, Canada has opted to invest more than $8 billion in building its next generation of icebreakers, which will operate under the Canadian Coast Guard. Davie Shipbuilding stated on its official website that the agreement covers the construction of six vessels to meet the requirements of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, with deliveries expected to begin during the next decade.

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Kevin Brosseau, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, commented on the initiative: “The icebreaking services of our Canadian Coast Guard are vital to keeping our waterways open and safe, while maintaining the flow of trade that supports Canada’s economic growth (…) These vessels will strengthen our support for coastal and northern communities, expand our capacity for scientific missions, and reinforce Canada’s maritime presence and security in an Arctic region that is becoming more active and important every year.”

The new icebreakers being built by Davie Shipbuilding will help Canada move forward with replacing its current fleet of heavy and medium vessels operating in the Arctic. These ships are used to monitor key maritime routes and to clear waterways along the St Lawrence River, which provides an important commercial link to Quebec City. The company also said that the new vessels will be essential both to safeguarding Canadian waters and to supporting coastal communities in the country’s north.

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Canadian Coast Guard fleet and domestic shipbuilding

The Canadian Coast Guard, which is part of the Ministry of Defence structure, currently operates around nine icebreakers for these duties. Among them, CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent is the largest, measuring 119.6 metres in length with a beam of 24.4 metres. It is one of the institution’s two heavy icebreakers.

In addition, the programme to build the six new ships seeks to strengthen domestic naval-industrial capabilities and support the network of local defence-related firms that will form part of the supply chain. The builder itself indicated that the project will prioritise Canadian suppliers, materials and designs.

Arctic routes and wider Canadian naval modernisation

The acquisition of these new icebreakers is part of a broader Canadian government programme aimed at enhancing the country’s naval capabilities, given that Arctic ice melt will help open new navigable routes that will require close monitoring.

For the Royal Canadian Navy, the country announced in July that it had selected the German company TKMS to provide twelve new attack submarines to replace its ageing Victoria-class boats; these will continue to receive maintenance through an agreement with Babcock. Furthermore, in mid-July it was reported that the new River-class destroyer programme had also reached a major milestone, with the keel-laying ceremony for the first vessel, HMCS Fraser.

Images used for illustrative purposes