The Canadian Government has selected Sydney in Nova Scotia as the preferred location for a maintenance port for the Canadian Coast Guard’s future polar icebreakers.
The infrastructure will serve as a deep‑water port to support the unique operational and maintenance requirements of the coast guard's fleet of multi-purpose icebreakers (MPIs).
The preferred location follows a national assessment to determine the most suitable site based on the coast guard’s operational, geographic, and infrastructure needs.
According to the coast guard, Sydney has key advantages that can support the long‑term operational needs of the fleet and provides one of the shortest routes to the Arctic from Eastern Canada.
The location also provides opportunities to strengthen collaboration with the Royal Canadian Navy.
Pending future discussions with local landowners, due diligence and planning activities will be required to assess the technical feasibility of constructing the MPI maintenance port at this location.
The MPIs will be built as polar class four icebreakers, with advanced capabilities such as continuous icebreaking in heavy ice conditions. Builder Seaspan Shipyards said this will allow them to carry out multiple missions including maritime search and rescue, environmental response, and maintaining Canada’s marine navigation system of about 17,000 navigation aids.