Message from the Minister of Fisheries: Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff joining the Department of National Defence

September 2, 2025 - Defence Stories

Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced that the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff who support the agency, would be moving to the Department of National Defence.

What isn’t changing is just as important: the Canadian Coast Guard will remain a civilian agency that is focused on search and rescue, icebreaking, marine traffic services, environmental response, and science. This move will better integrate the Canadian Coast Guard into Canada’s NATO defence capabilities, helping improve coordination with other security and intelligence partners across the country. This is part of the government’s plan to build a safer and more secure Canada, and this transition strengthens its ability to deliver both civilian and maritime security responsibilities.

For our department and me personally, this move means saying farewell to thousands of talented and knowledgeable people—including members of the Canadian Coast Guard but also DFO employees who provide significant, strong support for Canadian Coast Guard operations. Your work has had a lasting impact on the department, as well as on Canadians and all who rely on our waters for work and recreation.

For more than 60 years, the Canadian Coast Guard has stood as one of Canada’s most trusted and respected institutions. It’s people like you who are the backbone of this iconic and highly esteemed organization. Your contributions to Canadians and around the world are critical and vast—you engage in search and rescue, marine environmental response, maritime traffic control, aids to navigation, icebreaking key trade routes, and the vital resupply of remote Arctic communities, all while providing a platform for scientific research and hydrographic charting, supporting Canada’s sovereignty in the North, and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. DFO has been a key partner with the Canadian Coast Guard in some of this work, and this partnership will continue in support of our mandate here at the department.

As Canadian Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada employees, your work on and off the water directly touches the lives of Canadians. I’ve seen it first-hand while meeting teams across the country—especially this season as the Canadian Coast Guard supported wildfire response, including in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Thank you for the warm welcome, your collaboration, and your steadfast support in the work we’ve done together.

For many of you, you will now take on important new tasks, including security activities that will further strengthen sovereignty and maritime domain awareness.

While it’s never easy to see familiar faces leave, this is important work for our country, and I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.  I know your dedication and hard work will make you as valuable and treasured at the Department of National Defence as you have been here at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The Honourable Joanne Thompson, P.C., M.P.,
Minister of Fisheries