Overview
- The ceremonial keel laying for the future HMCS Fraser took place Friday at Irving Shipyard in Halifax and formally marked the start of construction on Canada’s first River‑class destroyer.
- The Royal Canadian Navy expects the Fraser to sail in the early 2030s, the federal government plans to have nine ships by 2040 and the full 15‑ship program complete by 2050.
- The River class is designed to consolidate air and missile defence, anti‑submarine warfare and expeditionary combat roles into one modern surface combatant for the RCN.
- Irving Shipbuilding holds contracts for the first three ships after an initial March 2025 award worth about $8 billion for six years of work, and government estimates say the program will support thousands of jobs and add roughly $720 million to GDP between 2025 and 2039.
- Officials describe the program as Canada’s largest and most complex shipbuilding effort at an estimated $56–$60 billion with multi‑decade schedule risk, and Navy leaders have said they hope to accelerate deliveries because of recent destroyer retirements.