Canadian Coast Guard Long-Term Strategy Discussion Paper: Assets pillar: What we need in order to deliver our services

As of September 2, 2025, the Canadian Coast Guard has moved to the Department of National Defence. The text below was drafted while the Canadian Coast Guard was part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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The Canadian Coast Guard is most recognized by its red and white fleet. More than 120 vessels sail our waters performing a range of services. This includes:

Icebreakers
Buoy tenders
Search and rescue lifeboats
Patrol vessels
Science ships
Air cushion vehicles (hovercrafts)

Many of our vessels are designed to be multi-purpose to make the best use of our resources and our time on the water. Other assets we have include helicopters and drones, which boost the capabilities of our fleet.

The Canadian Coast Guard also operates:

Bases
Stations
Fixed aids to navigation
Radars
Remote communications sites
Operations centres

Every year, we deploy and maintain more than 17,000 buoys, beacons, channel markers, and other aids to navigation.

Our long-term goals

The right mix of vessels, infrastructure, vehicles, and assets is needed to make sure the Canadian Coast Guard can deliver on its mission and mandate. Taking this into consideration, the Canadian Coast Guard is exploring approaches to:

Buy and manage our future assets in a way that is cost-effective, transparent, sustainable, and environmentally friendly
Make climate resilient infrastructure upgrades to receive our new vessels and ensure we can continue to deliver our services
Identify and implement the best path forward for climate resilience and decarbonization, which means reducing our greenhouse gas emissions
Implement e-navigation and digitalize our services across Canada, based on consultations with Indigenous partners and stakeholders
Ensure key services such as aids to navigation, search and rescue, and spill response remain effective and up to date with best available practices around the world

The course to get there

The Canadian Coast Guard continues to advance its major fleet renewal that began in 2005. Over 100 vessels are being bought and built, and older ones are being taken out of service. This gives us an opportunity to improve the way we operate and prepare for the future.

Fleet renewal

In the late 2020s and early 2030s, the Canadian Coast Guard will have to decommission many of its older vessels. At the same time, we will be acquiring new vessels and doing early trials on them. These waves of change will present challenges for us, like re-training our crews to operate more modern vessels. But they will also bring opportunities, like having the chance for our fleet and services to be more sustainable. For example, by the late 2030s, we will be facing refits of vessels, and by the 2040s will have to look at options for another cycle of fleet renewal. All of these opportunities will contribute to our long-term goals, especially decarbonization and climate resilience and creating a more networked Canadian Coast Guard. This will also be aligned with the goal of meeting Indigenous procurement targets.

The Canadian Coast Guard will work with our federal partners and the shipbuilding industry to complete our fleet renewal. As part of this work, we will be managing multiple contracts and projects, and trying to reduce the risk of late delivery and cost increases. Staff shortages and supply chain issues will also be ongoing risks that may impact our fleet renewal timelines. Our fleet renewal will also have to be done at the same time as our shore infrastructure renewal to make sure that we have the right infrastructure in place for the new fleet.

As we start to take on new services and expand on marine protection, the Canadian Coast Guard will face pressures to:

Invest in shore infrastructure in every region
Dispose of older assets, such as buoys
Safely contain and dispose of contaminated materials

As resources will always be limited, the Canadian Coast Guard will continue to explore ways to have our assets be used for multiple purposes. For example, ships can be designed to serve more than one program, like science missions, environmental response, and search and rescue operations. Our satellites, helicopters, and drones can also perform more than one task, and we will look to take advantage of this.

Modern and resilient assets

To mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, the Canadian Coast Guard is rethinking the capabilities of its future fleet. We want to ensure that the next generation of vessels is able to:

Provide flexibility to the Government of Canada to take on new missions
Protect habitats and species
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Welcome a diverse workforce
Enable the safe and efficient movement of traffic on Canadian waterways

We continue to determine the best path to decarbonization. There are several new options for green engines and alternative fuels, and some are better for one class of vessel than another. Before deciding on a way forward on decarbonization, the Canadian Coast Guard will need to explore our options to choose the ones that are best for our current and future vessels. Success will depend on a reliable supply chain to access alternative fuels and having the tools in place to transfer the fuel to our ships. Decarbonization efforts will also be supported by building variety into our fleet by having smaller vessels and using low carbon fuels.

Digitizing navigational information will help improve maritime trade and transport. It will make it safer, more secure, and help reduce the number of incidents on the water. This is a large part of our decarbonization and modernization plans.

By the end of the 2020s, the Government of Canada should be able to make decisions on the best path to decarbonization. In the meantime, the Canadian Coast Guard will work with our partners and the commercial shipping industry on these issues. We will look to other Coast Guards, navies, and merchant marines around the world for the best new practices.

Taking action

There are many ways to achieve the Canadian Coast Guard’s long-term goals for Assets. This includes key actions such as:

Continuing ongoing renewal of our fleet, shore infrastructure, and other tools
Working with federal partners and shipyards to construct vessels under the National Shipbuilding Strategy
Reducing the risk of late delivery of new vessels
Working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to remove barriers to purchasing goods and services from Indigenous business
Prioritizing purchasing from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses
Working within National Defense to develop a climate resilient infrastructure plan that is in line with the Greening Government Strategy
Developing a path to decarbonization that includes both our vessels and shore infrastructure
Working towards upgrading equipment and systems to create a more modernized Canadian Coast Guard
Identifying how we can be more connected, and work better with our federal partners – like the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Public Safety Canada – and the United States Coast Guard on our shared waters

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2026-02-26