Question Period Note: Canadian Patrol Submarine Project Request for Information

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND), issued a Request for Information (RFI) to industry stakeholders to gain further information on the availability of submarines that are currently in service or in production, and the industry’s capability and capacity to build and deliver up to 12 submarines to Canada.

• Canada has the largest coastline in the world, and it is essential that the Royal Canadian Navy be equipped with superior underwater surveillance capability to maintain our country’s security and sovereignty
  • The Navy’s current Victoria-class submarine fleet is scheduled to be decommissioned in the mid-2030s and replacement submarines are needed
  • The Request for Information was published to obtain further information on the availability of submarines that are currently in service or in production, and industry’s capability and capacity to build and deliver up to 12 submarines to Canada
  • The RFI also engaged Canadian industry on in-service support and infrastructure for the new fleet, including how partnerships with Canadian industry could be leveraged to create economic benefits in Canada

Through Canada’s defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free, the Government of Canada is providing members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with the equipment they need to maintain current and future operational readiness.

Canada also identified ten capabilities for which options will be explored, including renewing and expanding the RCN’s submarine fleet.

Canada’s key submarine capability requirements will be stealth, lethality, persistence and Arctic deployability – meaning that the submarine must have extended range and endurance.

Canada’s new fleet will need to provide a unique combination of these capabilities to ensure that Canada can detect, track, deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries in all three of Canada’s oceans while contributing meaningfully alongside allies and enabling the Government of Canada to deploy this fleet abroad in support of our partners and allies.

• 25 responses were received including 7 from Original Equipment Manufacturers (submarine builders)
  • Canada has determined that the RFI provided sufficient information to enable it to decide on appropriate next steps for the project
  • Canada continues to meet with officials from allied and partner countries, and companies and navies in Europe and Asia that currently have or are in the process of building submarines that may meet Canada’s requirements
  • To avoid any gaps in Canadian submarine capabilities, Canada anticipates a contract award by 2028, with the delivery of the first replacement submarine no later than 2035