OTTAWA -- Canada's Liberal government has rejected a recommendation to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's fleet of Victoria class submarines that will begin reaching the end of their service life in the mid-2020s, according to the Ottawa Citizen. HMCS Victoria will reach its end of life in 2022, with the last sub, HMCS Windsor, reaching its end of life in 2027.
A recent report from the House of Commons defense committee recommended replacing the four submarines with more advanced boats capable of operating beneath the ice. The committee also wanted to increase the size of Canada's submarine fleet in order to bolster the Navy's ability to protect the North Atlantic and Arctic regions.
In rejecting the committee's recommendation, the government noted that the Navy is already undergoing a number of major recapitalization programs, including buying new frigates, auxiliary ships, and Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships.
The government's response to the committee comes as no surprise. The Navy has previously said it wants to keep the Victoria class operational into the 2030s through the Submarine Equipment Life Extension (SELEX) program. Work under this effort could start as soon as the early 2020s. Internal government documents have estimated that an upgrade program could cost between CAD1.5 billion and CAD3 billion, depending on the scope of the upgrades. These estimates could also change as upgrade plans become more concrete. The government has said that future upgrades would include weapon and sensor improvements. Buying new submarines, as the defense committee recommended, would be a vastly more expensive proposition.
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