Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant, and the Honourable Darren Fisher, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, announced the implementation contract award to Irving Shipbuilding Inc. (ISI) for the construction of the River-class destroyers (RCD).

“By investing in our own industry, Canadian workers are helping to build the fleet of the future, equipping the Navy and our members in uniform modern and versatile ships they need for Canada’s important contributions to peace and security at home, and abroad. This work will create more than 5,000 jobs in Halifax and across Canada, supporting local economies from coast to coast to coast.”

- The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence

“This year marks the 15th anniversary of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and we are proud to celebrate this significant milestone in delivering Canada’s next-generation warship. By awarding the implementation contract to build the first batch of River-class destroyers, our government is making a long-term investment to ensure members of the Royal Canadian Navy have the equipment they need to defend and protect our country, while creating good-paying jobs and generating economic growth across Canada.”

- The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant

“Like it is for Canadians across this country, Canada’s rich naval history is a point of pride for this government. Today’s contract award with Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is a true demonstration of our government’s commitment to supporting our domestic shipbuilding industry and to ensuring the Royal Canadian Navy has the modern, world-class capabilities needed to protect our sovereignty, safeguard our waters and defend our interests on the global stage. We are investing in Canada and for Canada, and the River-class destroyer project will strengthen the country’s marine sector and help grow our economy for years to come.”

- The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Nova Scotians know how to build ships, and our skilled shipbuilders are gearing up to build the River-class Destroyers for our Royal Canadian Navy. This generational investment in our future fleet will create good jobs at the shipyard and launch a new wave of opportunities in the maritime defence sector—growing our economy. Every shipbuilder and worker on this project will take pride in knowing their craftsmanship directly supports the brave women and men of the Royal Canadian Navy as they serve at home and abroad." 

- The Honourable Darren Fisher, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

“Today’s announcement is a major step forward in delivering the first three River-class Destroyers – these impressive ships will offer an incredible capacity to the Royal Canadian Navy and Canada, ensuring that we can defend our waters against any adversary and deliver frontline combat power anywhere in the world.”

- Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander, Royal Canadian Navy 

“Today is a major milestone for Irving Shipbuilding and for Canada. This contract validates more than a decade of hard work by industry and government and provides stability for the hard-working men and women who design, build and maintain Canada’s surface fleet.”

- Dirk Lesko, President, Irving Shipbuilding Inc.

• The RCD will replace the capabilities found in the four retired Iroquois-class destroyers and the 12 Halifax-class frigates with a single combat-capable ship that can meet multiple threats on both the open ocean and in the highly complex coastal environment.

• The RCD is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 warship design being built by the United Kingdom and a variant of which is being built for Australia as the Hunter Class Frigate. The RCD will have enhanced underwater sensors, state-of-the-art radar and modern weapons.

• The first three ships will be named His Majesty’s Canadian Ships Fraser, Saint-Laurent, and Mackenzie, after Canada’s most important waterways that reach the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans.   

• This year marks the 15th anniversary of the NSS. Since 2010, the NSS has contributed to ensuring Canada’s sovereignty by equipping the RCN and the Canadian Coast Guard with new vessels and maintaining their existing fleets to protect Canada’s national interests both at home and abroad.

• NSS contracts awarded between 2012 and early 2025 contributed over $36 billion to Canada’s GDP and have created or maintained more than 20,400 jobs annually between 2012 and 2024. 

• The initial implementation contract value is for an agreed contract period of six years, enabling the required work to be executed in that period, with a contract extension to follow as the successful construction progresses.  

• The cost estimate includes the costs that will be paid to ISI through the implementation contract, including material and labour costs associated with ship construction, initial spares and the development of training, maintenance and logistics support products required to support the ships in service, as well as costs associated with the delivery of equipment, systems and ammunition for which Canada is responsible to deliver as Government Supplied Materiel, procured by Canada either through the US Foreign Military Sales Program or through other contracts directly with equipment suppliers.  

• Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy applies to the RCD project, which requires companies to make investments and provide business activities in Canada equal to the value of the related contracts.

• The NSS Value Proposition applies to the RCD project and requires ISI to reinvest the equivalent of 0.5% of its RCD contracts in the three priority areas to benefit the greater Canadian marine industry: human resources development, technology investment, and industrial development.

• To help bring the RCD into service and support them throughout their lifecycle, the Department of National Defence (DND) is building a land-based testing facility on a portion of DND-owned land in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Construction is expected to begin this summer with expected completion in 2027.

• In 2023, the Government of Canada announced that it was investing $463 million (taxes included) in shipyard infrastructure to ensure that ISI has the capability and capacity to enhance build efficiency to meet the RCD delivery timelines. The Government of Canada and ISI agreed to a strategy that authorizes and funds the infrastructure enhancements in phases. In May 2024, additional funding was provided to support the remaining phases of work. The revised total value of the investment is estimated at $871.7 million (taxes included). 

• Expenditures on major capability acquisitions like the River-class destroyers contribute significantly to Canada’s overall defence spending. As Canada works to reach 2% of GDP spending on defence, we remain focused on ensuring the CAF has the modern capabilities it needs to remain a strong fighting force able to defend Canada’s sovereign territory, North America, and our allies from global threats. Additionally, spending on major equipment such as the River-class destroyers has Canada on track to exceed NATO’s 20% guideline for major equipment expenditures as a share of overall defence spending.

Related products

• Canadian Surface Combatant Project
• National Shipbuilding Strategy
• Government of Canada announces investment in shipbuilding infrastructure for the Canadian Surface Combatant
• Industrial and Technological Benefits
• Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence

Laurent de Casanove
Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: laurent.decasanove@forces.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca