Canada Orders Six Icebreakers for C$11.3 Billion, Davie Shipyard to Start in 2027

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Canadian government has unveiled the largest shipbuilding contract in Quebec's history, investing C$11.3 billion (approximately US$8.2 billion) to commission Chantier Davie in Lévis to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that this project will be carried out on a scale "unseen in generations," with construction expected to create nearly 5,000 jobs and contribute approximately C$650 million annually to Canada's GDP.

All six new vessels will be built to Polar Class 3 standards, replacing the aging heavy and medium icebreakers currently deployed in Canada's Atlantic region, the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, and the Arctic. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the first vessel scheduled for delivery five years later, and all six ships to be in service by 2038. Under Ottawa's "Buy Canada" policy, these vessels will use Canadian-made steel and other domestic materials, with the government viewing this order as part of multiple objectives including industrial policy, Arctic sovereignty, and fleet renewal.

This contract is seen as the latest sign of Canada's shipbuilding industry revival. For decades, the sector had been hollowed out by intermittent procurement programs. Chantier Davie has positioned itself at the core of this revitalization. The group acquired Helsinki Shipyard in 2023, thereby introducing Finnish polar icebreaker construction technology. This capability has already been applied to the Polar Max project—a C$3.25 billion heavy icebreaker contract awarded to Chantier Davie in 2025, with the vessel expected for delivery in 2030.

On Canada's west coast, Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards received a C$3.15 billion contract last year to build a second polar icebreaker. The company also plans to construct up to 16 multi-purpose icebreakers under a program budgeted at C$14.2 billion. Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax continues to serve as the core combat vessel builder under the National Shipbuilding Strategy framework.