(LEVIS, Quebec) — The government of Canada has awarded a $3.25 billion contract to Chantier Davie Canada for the construction a polar icebreaker under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). This marks a significant milestone in strengthening Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security.
As part of its fleet renewal plan, the Canadian Coast Guard is acquiring two polar icebreakers. The other polar icebreaker is being built by Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards. These vessels will strengthen the Coast Guard’s Arctic presence and have greater, more advanced capabilities than its current icebreakers.
These larger, more powerful polar icebreakers will ensure the Coast Guard’s operations continue at higher latitudes for longer periods, while allowing its fleet to better support indigenous peoples, strengthen Arctic security, advance high Arctic science and better respond to maritime emergencies.
Chantier Davie will be building the ship in Levis, Quebec. To accelerate its production, Chantier Davie will also leverage Helsinki Shipyard, its Canadian-owned shipyard in Finland. With Finland’s unique expertise and track record building polar icebreakers, this will deliver Canadian ships faster and cheaper, and get them on the ice quicker. These investments are turbocharging the Canadian shipbuilding industry, creating good-paying jobs across Canada, and enhancing its defense and security partnerships around the world.
The 15-year-old NSS plays a major role in strengthening Canada’s economy, having created or maintained over 20,400 good middle-class jobs per year. Since 2010, Canadian shipyards have delivered eight large vessels and 34 small vessels to the Royal Canadian Navy and the Coast Guard, while supporting federal fleets with critical repair, refit and maintenance work.
Quick facts
• The NSS is a long-term, multibillion-dollar program aimed at renewing the fleets of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy to ensure that Canada’s maritime agencies have the modern ships they need to fulfill their missions, while revitalizing Canada’s shipbuilding industry, creating middle-class jobs and maximizing economic benefits across the country.
• Quebec shipyards and businesses play an important role in supporting the federal government’s shipbuilding needs.
• Approximately $4.5 billion in contracts have been awarded to Quebec companies under the NSS. This represents over 12 percent of the total value of contracts awarded under the NSS. These contracts have provided significant and long-term opportunities for skilled workers across the province.
• The Canadian Coast Guard currently has 18 icebreakers of varying sizes and capabilities, making it the second-largest icebreaking fleet in the world.
• This strategy not only advances Canada’s partnership with Finland under the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact), but also leverages Finnish expertise to strengthen shipbuilding capacity in Canada.
• In May 2021, Canada announced the procurement of two new polar icebreakers under the NSS.
• Chantier Davie has already played a critical role in supporting Canada’s fleets, receiving over $2.8 billion in contracts from 2012 to 2023 for various types of work on ships for the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy and Transport Canada.
• On Nov. 13, Canada signed the ICE Pact with the United States and Finland to deepen existing cooperation, strengthen their shipbuilding industries, and allow new equipment and capabilities to be produced more quickly. These three key Arctic countries will work more closely together to engage allies and partners to help meet future global demand for Arctic and polar vessels.
• Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy applies to the polar icebreaker project, which requires companies to make investments and provide business activities in Canada equal to the value of the related contracts.
• The NSS Value Proposition applies to the polar icebreaker project and requires Chantier Davie to reinvest the equivalent of 0.5 percent of its polar contracts in three priority areas to benefit the greater Canadian marine industry: human resources development, technology investment and industrial development.
– Government of Canada
