By Jeff G. Gilmour
Canada’s current military procurement programs do not meet the urgent defence needs of the country. For the most part, the Canadian government’s policy is to build equipment in this country and to avoid acquiring it off-the-shelf from foreign countries, even if such decisions conflict with the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces. In terms of naval capability, Canada’s three shipyards cannot compete with their Asian and European counterparts due to labour and other costs. As a result, the completion times are lengthy and very costly, as indicated in our two major ship-building contracts with Irving. In brief,
- in July 2007, the Harper government announced the building of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) to include six ships for the RCN. In 2015 a contract was signed with Irving to cut the steel for the first ship. The last ship was delivered to the RCN in 2025. The total cost - $$4.98B.
- in October 2011, under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, the government awarded Irving Shipbuilding a contract to build 15 of what are now referred to as River-class destroyers for the RCN. In 2022 the PBO estimated the cost to be roughly $85B. In March 2025, the Carney government awarded Irving an “implementation contract” to begin building the first of these ships for about $22B, which included weapons systems training and spare parts.
As you can see, there have been delays and cost increases.
Although Australia also builds ships at home, the Hunter-class for example, the Australian government recently differed from the Canadian position of constructing naval surface ships within its own shipyards. In April Australia announced that it has decided to obtain some warships from afar.[1] Under Project Sea 3000, Australia inked a deal with Japan to buy three upgraded Mogami-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This represents Japan’s largest ever defence export and represents a greater strategic alignment between the two countries. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will construct three 4,800 ton frigates in Japan, with the first to be delivered by December 2029. Another eight frigates will be built in western Australia. The new program is estimated to cost up to 14.4B (US) over the next decade.
The Minister for Defence Industry stated: “This is the fastest acquisition for the RAN in peacetime. We are working closely with Japanese and Australian industry partners as we acquire one of the most, if not the most, advanced general-purpose frigate in the world.”[2] Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes, the RAN’s Head of Naval Capability said “It’s going to be a game-changer from a capability perspective. The reality is that Mogami is going to allow us to jump a generation in technology in a ship, not only in its combat system, but how the RAN operates and crews these highly automated ships.”[3] The article notes that these ships are desperately needed, since the RAN presently has only 10 surface combatants in operation at the present time.
Canada would be well served, both in terms of affordability and timely availability of essential equipment, by opening up military procurement to off-the-shelf purchases that are increasingly the practice across our allied defence forces.
[1] Gordon Arthur, “Massive frigate buy from Japan jolts Australian warship program,” Defense News, 27 April 2026. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2026/04/27/massive-frigate-buy-from-japan-jolts-australian-warship-program/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid. Footnote 1
Image: The first Mogami-class frigate in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces. Credit: Hiroshi miyaji, Wikimedia
