The Canadian Coast Guard operates in almost any and all weather conditions during the Arctic shipping season.
This year, the Coast Guard is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Over the years, the Coast Guard has witnessed many changes in the north, partly due to climate change, a changing landscape, an increased international interest and a growing domestic population.
Through these changes, the Canadian Coast Guard has played and will continue to play a critical role in Arctic safety and security.
Our fleet is at the core of the delivery of Coast Guard programs, and our icebreakers are at the core of our current fleet. Up to 19 icebreakers operate each winter to make sure that marine traffic moves safely everywhere in the country, and their number ranges from 7 to 9 in the Arctic.
These same icebreakers also facilitate access to open waters in the spring so that the fisheries can be opened as early as possible, while not compromising the lives of mariners. In between what we call the “shoulder seasons” of spring and fall, a number of those ice-capable vessels, which range from seven to nine each year, travel up and down to serve the Arctic.
From facilitating critical resupply activities to surveying the bottom of waterways so that hydrographic charts can be produced, providing marine safety for search and rescue or environmental response missions, and contributing to Canada's Arctic sovereignty, these icebreakers have been and will continue to be of critical importance to Canada's north—