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Ottawa has earmarked billions of dollars for investments at Labrador\u2019s 5 Wing Goose Bay, but so far, MPs are shying away from sharing specifics on what it will go toward and a timeline for it to happen.<\/p>\n
In March Prime Minister Mark Carney announced 5 Wing Goose Bay was getting an unspecified piece of new $32 billion in investments<\/a> toward airfields, hangars and other facilities in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Iqaluit, along with Goose Bay. At the time, details were sparse on what that funding could entail for Labrador.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Fisheries Minister and St. John\u2019s East MP Joanne Thompson said up to $8 billion from the defence plan has been allocated for 5 Wing Goose Bay.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a game-changer for 5 Wing Goose Bay, for Labrador and for Newfoundland,\u201d Thompson said, adding the money is for areas such as airfield improvement, operational facilities and infrastructure.<\/p>\n She said the Labrador base matters now more than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in an increasingly dangerous and divided world. And Canada’s ability to monitor and defend its Arctic and northern territories is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson also referenced the recent news that for the first time since the Cold War ended, Canada cleared NATO’s defence spending<\/a> benchmark of two per cent of gross domestic product.<\/p>\n NATO countries recently pledged to spend five per cent of their gross domestic product on defence \u2014 3.5 per cent on their militaries and 1.5 per cent on defence infrastructure.<\/p>\n The announcement comes amid mounting concerns over Canada\u2019s security during increased geopolitical instability and U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s jabs about Canada\u2019s sovereignty<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two weeks ago, Thompson was in St. John’s to announce five N.L. companies were getting a share of $16 million in repayable federal loans<\/a> to help scale up Canada\u2019s defence capabilities.<\/p>\n \u2018Details will follow\u2019<\/p>\n While Thompson called it an “extraordinary commitment,\u201d when asked by reporters for more specifics, she did not provide more information.<\/p>\n She said the billions are a commitment for the area and the \u201ctakeaway\u201d from the announcement is Ottawa has made a commitment to the base.<\/p>\n The details \u201chaven\u2019t been worked through,\u201d she said, but benefits to Labrador \u201cwill flow and how that flows, those are conversations that will happen as we go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n During questions from reporters, she repeatedly defended the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be very clear, the number is not vague. The number is the number and we need to celebrate that. The details will follow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Speaking at the event, Labrador MP Philip Earle said the base has played an important role in the country’s defence in the past and Wednesday’s announcement enforced its continued significance.<\/p>\n \u201cInvestments at 5 Wing Goose Bay help strengthen our military’s readiness but they also create real and lasting benefits here at home, in Labrador,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Earle added the investment is about ensuring that 5 Wing Goose Bay remains strong, capable and ready to support the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces today and into the future.<\/p>\n Thompson also announced the Department of National Defence awarded a $187 million energy performance contract to modernize the base\u2019s central heating plant, replacing the existing diesel system with cleaner and more efficient boilers.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Department of National Defence said the contract had been awarded to MCW Custom Energy Solutions Ltd.<\/p>\n Ted Loucks, who is a partner with MCW Custom Energy Solutions Ltd., said they’re excited about the work ahead, adding they will be working with local businesses as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be starting as soon as this summer and it will roll out over the next five years, to be complete by 2030,\u201d he told CBC News.<\/p>\n Download our \u00a0free CBC News app <\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our \u00a0daily headlines newsletter here <\/a>. Click \u00a0here to visit our landing page\u00a0<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-575666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775067670_237_default.jpg\")
Labrador MP Philip Earle says the announcement highlights 5 Wing Goose Bay\u2019s continued importance. (Regan Burden\/CBC)<\/p>\n