Canada’s Next Submarine Fleet (Part 2)

In today’s episode of the Expert Series, we return with three experts for the second part of a two-part series on Canada’s submarine fleet replacement of the Victoria-class submarines. Part One covered the geopolitical context of the submarine fleet replacement and outlined the technological and capability requirements needed to meet Canada’s defence needs. This part focuses on the challenges in the procurement of technologically adequate submarines, along with recruitment and retention issues in the Navy.

VAdm (Ret’d) Mark Norman, former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, VAdm (Ret’d) Bob Davidson, a member of the CDAI Board, and RAdm (Ret’d) Luc Cassivi, former Commander of Military Personnel Generation and the Canadian Defence Academy, join us to discuss the necessary technical capabilities of submarines, difficulties with their procurement, and challenges with recruiting the necessary personnel to man the submarines.

In particular, guests highlight Canada’s inability to produce and repair many ships domestically, noting that Canada has lost much of this technology to time. They note that since submarines require high levels of technological capability that Canada does not have, Canada must turn to allies to acquire our submarine capability. However, in doing so, Canada must ensure that it is able to acquire spare parts needed for maintenance, instead of having to rebuild the technology from scratch. Guests note that Canada’s challenges do not end with obtaining submarines: it must ensure that it has the necessary staff to operate them. Unfortunately, Canada’s lack of submarines has made it difficult to train personnel, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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Established in 1932, the CDA Institute is a non-partisan registered charity organization with the mission to advance informed debate on national security issues, particularly those that pertain to national defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. We aim to foster a fact-based and rational approach to dialogue regarding Canadian defence, security, and foreign policy.