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Canada will pump $816 million into maritime security over the next seven years to strengthen the coast guard’s capabilities from the high Arctic to the country’s southern coast lines, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This is an investment in Canada’s Arctic security,” McGuinty said in Iqaluit. “It’s an investment in the people who protect these waters. It’s an investment in our sovereignty. It’s an investment in the people who live here.”<\/p>\n
McGuinty said that while the money will be used on Canada’s East and West Coasts, in the Great Lakes and in the St. Lawrence River, the funding would focus specifically on strengthening security and defence capabilities in the Arctic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Liberal government removed the Canadian Coast Guard from Fisheries and Oceans Canada in September and folded it into the Department of National Defence, giving it powers to collect, analyze and share intelligence regarding threats to national security.<\/p>\n
McGuinty announced Friday that the $816 million over seven years would expand the agency’s defensive role in the north through four key initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Creating a year-round maritime domain awareness hub in Iqaluit that would collect and analyze maritime intelligence.\u00a0Adding new reconnaissance equipment to coast guard helicopters nationally to improve the effectiveness of security patrols.\u00a0Building four new Arctic long-range radar sites along the Northwest Passage and in the Hudson Strait.\u00a0Procure short- and medium-range drones that can operate in the sky, on the surface or underwater to boost the coast guard’s reach.Drones and radar<\/p>\n
“These investments will improve real\u2011time situational awareness, reinforce year\u2011round operations in the North, and support the protection and sovereignty of Canada\u2019s northern waters,” National Defence said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In March 2025 Carney announced that Canada would partner with Australia to build an early warning radar system for the Arctic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would invest more than $6 billion into the project.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n