Shipbuilding Windfall Goes to Nova Scotia, Vancouver

Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax was the big winner Wednesday, getting the $25 billion contract to build 21 Canadian combat ships, while Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. won the $8 billion contract for seven non-combat vessels.

The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy Secretariat announced the results and touted the expected benefits of the contracts, including skilled work in sectors from steel manufacturing to information technology.

“Canada is a maritime nation with the longest coastline of any country in the world. The renewal of the federal fleet is essential to sustaining Canada’s sovereignty and prosperity by safeguarding international trade, as well as enforcing Canadian law,” noted a release from Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Combat ships include Arctic offshore patrol ships and surface combat ships for the Royal Canadian Navy. Non-combat ships include the Navy’s joint support ships, the Canadian Coast Guard’s off-shore science vessels, and the new polar icebreaker. The contracts are worth $33 billion over 20 to 30 years.

There are still contracts for 116 vessels small ships at an estimated value of $2 billion to be bid on.

The decision was welcomed by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries but prompted calls from opposition parties for support for Quebec’s Lévis region, home to losing bidder Davie Shipyard.

“These massive contracts promised decades of economic activity, and the government has a responsibility to ensure that their procurement process does not create economic disadvantage to any part of the country,” said Liberal interim leader Bob Rae.

NDP Leader Nycole Turmel said the government must ensure that Quebec maintains a shipbuilding capacity.

“This is great news for Nova Scotia and British Columbia, and I congratulate them wholeheartedly. But Canada has the longest coastline in the world, making shipbuilding a critical strategic industry in all corners of this country,” she said.

Turmel called on the government to speed up bidding on the remaining $2 billion of shipbuilding contracts.

The government has been careful to keep a distance from the bidding process in order to avoid the possibility of allegations of political interference.