With the high-profile backdrop of the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., Canada announced it will acquire 12 conventionally-powered submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy.
The announcement does not come as a surprise, as the government formally established the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project office in 2022 with the remit to investigate options for a follow-on submarine capability to replace the existing Victoria-class diesel-electric submarines, of which Canada operates four.
These boats are former Upholder-class submarines of the U.K. Royal Navy. Canada purchased them in 1998, with the first arriving in 2000. The Victoria-class boats have experienced significant support and sustainability issues since their induction into service with the RCN and these problems have severely limited the fleet’s operational availability. Of the four boats, only one is typically available at a high readiness rate. Nonetheless, Canada has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to keep its submarine capability alive, thus enabling the service to maintain a cadre of submariners.
Canada’s future submarine capability was a highlight of the recent Defence Policy Update titled “Our North, Strong and Free,” which the Canadian government released in April. The policy focuses primarily on the North and Arctic regions of Canada.
“Rising and disruptive powers like China and Russia mean NATO’s northern and western flank is the Canadian Arctic… The Northwest Passage could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and Asia by 2050,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the continental defense in his remarks at the time.
Canada outlined a number of initiatives, including investing in North American Aerospace Defense Command modernization, buying airborne early warning & control aircraft and exploring options for new submarines.
While Canada is not part of the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, it is an observer in one of the working groups in AUKUS pillar two, which covers the technology sharing portion of the agreement
The DPU announcement provided mixed messaging on submarines as Trudeau, when asked about the benefit of nuclear-powered submarines for capability underneath the ice, said: “That is certainly what we will be looking at, as to what type of submarines are most appropriate for Canada’s responsibility in protecting the longest coastline in the world, and certainly the longest Arctic coastline in the world.”
The statement contradicted what Bill Blair, the Minister of National Defence, said during the same press event, when he said the government is exploring options to “renew and expand our submarines with a new conventional fleet which will be capable of operating under the ice.”
“The investments, which will be in Budget 2024, will bring our defense spending to 1.76 percent of GDP by 2029/30,” Blair said during the DPU announcement.
Although the DPU initiatives outline a path for a significant boost in Canada’s defense spending, the country still falls short of its NATO commitment to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. The perceived lack of imperative to meet this target was front and center during last week’s NATO summit in D.C. By the end of the summit, Trudeau announced that Canada expects to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense by 2032, but did not provide details on the path to achieve that goal.
The CPSP will contribute to that goal as it seeks to acquire a larger, modernized submarine fleet to enable the RCN to covertly detect and deter maritime threats, control maritime approaches, project power and striking capability further from Canada’s shores and project a persistent deterrent on all three coasts. Key submarine capability requirements will be stealth, lethality, persistence and Arctic deployability, which means the submarines must have extended range and endurance.
The government will post a formal request for information in the fall to gain more information on the procurement, construction, delivery and operational capabilities of potential bidders that can build submarines for Canada. This RFI will also seek to gain information to enable the establishment of a submarine sustainment capability in Canada. The CPSP will fall outside of Canada’s existing National Shipbuilding Strategy and the government has not released any figures on cost or timeline.
Submarine manufacturers that have publicly expressed interest in CPSP include Hanwha Ocean, Navantia, Saab and ThyssenKrupp Marine.
