On 10 July the Canadian Government announced it would acquire up to 12 Conventional powered, under-ice capable submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
The Government said, “Canada is the country with the largest coastline in the world – an underwater surveillance capability is crucial to our security and sovereignty. As outlined in our defence policy update, Our North, Strong and Free, released in April 2024, our Arctic is now warming at four times the global average, making a vast and sensitive region more accessible to foreign actors who have growing capabilities and regional military ambitions. By 2050, the Arctic Ocean could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and East Asia.
Canada’s Northwest Passage and the broader Arctic region are already more accessible, and competitors are seeking access, transportation routes, natural resources, critical minerals, and energy sources through more frequent and regular presence and activity. They are exploring Arctic waters and the sea floor, probing our infrastructure and collecting intelligence. In the maritime domain, Russian submarines are probing widely across the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans and China is rapidly expanding its underwater fleet.
In response to these emerging security challenges, in Our North, Strong and Free, the Government of Canada committed to exploring options for renewing and expanding our submarine fleet, in order to allow Canada to detect and deter threats and control our maritime approaches. We made this commitment because Canada’s current fleet of four Victoria class submarines is becoming increasingly obsolete and expensive to maintain. Canada needs a new fleet of submarines to protect our sovereignty from emerging security threats.”
The RCN’s existing submarine capability is beased of the Victoria class boats. Four Victoria-class submarines were purchased from the British Government in 1998, and delivered to Canada from 2000 to 2004. The first three submarines,Victoria, Windsor and Corner Brook were commissioned into RCN service shortly after their arrival in Canada. The fourth, Chicoutimi, was delivered to Canada in 2004, but was not commissioned into RCN service until 2015, due to a fire in 2004 and subsequent work required.
Through the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), Canada will acquire a larger, modernised submarine fleet to enable the RCN to covertly detect and deter maritime threats, control our maritime approaches, project power and striking capability further from our shores, and project a persistent deterrent on all three coasts.
The Department of National Defence is meeting manufacturers and potential partners, as part of the CPSP. A formal Request for Information (RFI) will be posted later this year to gain further information on the procurement, construction, delivery and operational capabilities of potential bidders who can build submarines for Canada. This RFI will also seek to gain information which will enable the establishment of a submarine sustainment capability in Canada. This procurement will enable Canada to develop closer ties with its allies and partners and establish a strategic partnership that not only delivers the submarines themselves, but creates a durable relationship between Canada and its strategic partner(s) to support personnel training and the sharing of information.
Source Canadian DND
