Book 1, Tab A3 – Canadian Coast Guard Overview and Programs
“Safety first, service always.”

On this page

• What We Do
• From Coast to Coast to Coast
• Coast Guard Regions
• Aids to Navigation and Waterways
• Icebreaking and Ice-Management
• Marine Communications and Traffic Services
• Marine Search and Rescue (SAR)
• Marine Pollution Response
• Hazardous Vessels
• Maritime Security
• Coast Guard Asset Management
• Canadian Coast Guard College
• Key Initiatives
• International Collaboration
• Partnerships
• Annex: Coast Guard Partnerships

What We Do

• Coast Guard is the lead federal agency responsible for ensuring marine safety and security throughout Canadian waters, including engaging in search and rescue operations.
• Coast Guard supports Canada’s ocean economy by enabling: the safe and efficient flow of $251B in marine trade; the handling of more than 342M tonnes of critical goods; and supporting tens of thousands of jobs across Canada.
• In recognition of its specific mandate, Coast Guard was established as a Special Operating Agency (SOA) within Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2005.

Coast Guard’s mandate is derived from the Oceans Act, the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act giving Coast Guard the authorityto provide essential services.

• Marine Search and Rescue
• Marine Navigation
• Marine Communications and Traffic Management
• Hazardous Vessels
• Icebreaking and Ice-management
• Marine Pollution Response
• Support to Other Government Organizations

From Coast to Coast to Coast

• Coast Guard’s responsibility covers 243,000 km of Canada’s coastline, the longest in the world.
• Our vessels and aircraft operate over approximately 5.3 million km² of ocean and inland waters.
• Approximately 6,149 employees, with 87 per cent working outside of the National Capital Region
• Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, NS, grants degrees to Navigation and Engineering Officer graduates; provides training in marine safety, security, and environmental protection; and ab initio training for Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS).

On an average day, the Coast Guard:

• Coordinates 19 search and rescue incidents
• Assists 43 people in search and rescue responses
• Saves 13 lives through on water-water response
• Manages 1,100 vessel movements
• Carries out 11 fisheries patrols
• Supports 11 scientific surveys
• Deals with 3 pollution events
• Surveys 3.5 km of navigation channel bottom

Coast Guard Regions

Text version: Coast Guard Regions

Western: 1,370 FTEs

• 7 Operational Bases
• 13 SAR Stations
• 4 Seasonal IRB stations
• 5 Staffed ER Depots
• 2 MCTS Centres
• 1 JRCC
• 1 ROC
• 3,856 Aids to Navigation
• 27 Staffed Lightstations

Arctic: 102 FTEs

• 1 Operational Base
• 1 Seasonal IRB Station
• 1 Staffed ER Depot
• 1 Seasonal MCTS Centre
• 1,930 Aids to Navigation

Atlantic: 2,125 FTEs

• 3 Operational Bases
• 14 SAR Stations
• 9 seasonal IRB Stations
• 1 JRCC
• 1 MRSC
• 1ROC

Central: 1,610 FTEs

• 11 Operational Bases
• 15 SAR Stations
• 13 Seasonal IRB stations
• 4 Staffed ER Depots
• 4 MCTS Centres
• 1 JRCC
• 1 MRSC
• 1 ROC
• 6,801 Aids to Navigation

NCR/College: 1,151 FTEs

National Headquarters (Ottawa, Ontario) and Coast Guard College (Sydney, Nova Scotia)

• 5 Staffed ER Depots
• 5 MCTS Centres
• 6,675 Aids to Navigation
• 24 Staffed Lighthouses

Fleet (as of 10/18/2022)*

• 120 Vessels
• 22 Helicopters
• 26 x Large Vessels
• 43 x Small Vessels
• 47 x SAR Lifeboats
• 4 x Air Cushion Vehicles
• 22 x Helicopters

* In addition, the fleet is supplemented by two leased Emergency Towing Vessels on the West Coast, and three icebreakers in Atlantic and Central regions, to backfill while existing large ships undergo refits.

Aids to Navigation and Waterways

Coast Guard facilitates safe navigation through Canadian waters

• Ensuring smooth and uninterrupted flow of goods along waterways
• Maintaining over 17,000 aids to navigation 
• Providing navigational safety information to mariners
• Surveying channel conditions, and informing mariners of water depths, currents, and levels

Icebreaking and Ice-Management

During winter, 14 icebreakers and two air cushioned vehicles operate in southern Canada. During the summer, an average of seven vessels operate in the Arctic.

• Enables commerce on the east coast, St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes
• Ensures year-round ferry service
• Escorts ships through ice covered waters
• Supports flood prevention
• Clears ice from harbours and wharves
• Supports Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic
• Supplies remote communities
• Supports Arctic economic development
• Provides ice information and routing advice
• Works closely with the United States Coast Guard in transboundary waterways

Marine Communications and Traffic Services

183 remote communication sites which include 11 in the Arctic to support Coast Guard services.

12 Marine Communications and Traffic Service centres:

• Monitor radio frequencies and respond to calls for assistance;
• Broadcast maritime safety information;
• Regulate marine traffic in designated waterways;
• Provide navigational information and assistance; and,
• Screen vessels and issue clearance to ships prior to entry into Canadian waters.

Marine Search and Rescue (SAR)

Coast Guard is the federal lead for marine search and rescue in Canada.

• Coast Guard provides 24/7/365 SAR services in partnership with National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF), and over 4,000 volunteer members of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.
• SAR incidents are coordinated by three Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) and two Maritime Rescue Sub-Centres. The JRCC's are managed by Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and jointly staffed with Coast Guard and CAF personnel.
• SAR resources across Canada:
  • 3 Joint Rescue Coordination Centres
  • 2 Maritime Rescue Sub-Centres
  • 42 Search and Rescue stations
  • 26 seasonal In-shore Rescue Boat stations
  • 2 hovercraft stations
  • 1 dive team

Marine Pollution Response

Environmental Response (ER)

• Coast Guard ensures an appropriate response to all reports of ship-source pollution and mystery-source spills.
• Public-private partnership that adheres to the Polluter Pays Principle.
• Integrating science and local Indigenous knowledge into preparedness and response activities.
• 94 ER equipment depot sites across Canada.
• Coast Guard assumes on-water presence when the polluter is unavailable, unable, or unwilling to do so.

Hazardous Vessels

Vessels of Concern (VOC)

• The Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (WAHVA), which came into force on July 30, 2019, gives Coast Guard new authorities and provides strict liability to hold vessels owners accountable.
• Coast Guard is responsible for ensuring hazards posed by vessels in Canadian waters are appropriately addressed.
• The implementation of the program will help prevent the occurrence of new problem vessels and make progress in cleaning up existing problem vessels.
• Transport Canada and Coast Guard are working together to establish a long-term fund to remove the burden from the taxpayers.
• Coast Guard established a national inventory that is used to prioritize vessels based on risks. There are currently 1,500 vessels of concern identified nationally.

Maritime Security

Coast Guard is often the only federal presence in Canada’s waters, most notably in the Arctic. This presence contributes to security and promotes Canadian sovereignty.

Coast Guard plays a critical role in supporting Canada’s maritime and national security by:

• Creating national maritime domain awareness by contributing sensor information and expert analysis in Canada’s three Marine Security Operations Centres
• Providing patrol vessels, helicopters and personnel to support DFO and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
• Contributing to global maritime security and safety, and supporting Canada’s overseas priorities
• Providing and managing intelligence and information to support Coast Guard decision-making and operations
• Engaging with federal and international partners to ensure a coherent approach to national and allied maritime security

Coast Guard Asset Management

Shore-Based Asset Readiness

• Ensure Coast Guard shore-based assets are available, capable, and reliable to support the delivery of the following Coast Guard programs:
  • Marine Communication and Traffic Services (MCTS)
  • Aids to Navigation (AtoN)
  • Environmental Response (ER)
• Manage the following assets throughout their entire life cycle:
  • 12 MCTS centres and 184 remote communication sites (including radios, radars, towers, buildings, and operational systems)
  • 17,000 fixed and floating aids to navigation (including buoys, day marks, range lights, beacons, lanterns and fog systems)
  • Environmental response specialized vehicles, incident command trailers, booms, oil skimmers, and other equipment

Fleet Maintenance

• Ensure Coast Guard vessels, air cushioned vehicles, and small craft are available, capable, and reliable to deliver Coast Guard programs, through life cycle management process (including maintenance, in-service engineering, and disposal services).
• Sustain operational capabilities through a comprehensive Vessel Life Extension Program pending delivery of new vessels under the Fleet Renewal Plan.

Canadian Coast Guard College

A Centre of Excellence Where Learning Becomes Life Changing

• Coast Guard’s national, bilingual training facility offering learning throughout the personnel lifecycle, including:
  • Coast Guard Officer Training Program
  • Marine Communication and Traffic ServicesOfficer training
  • Electronics and Informatics Technical Training
  • Operational training programs (e.g. SAR/ER/VoC)
• World-leading facilities and programs supported by established training governance to identify operational learning requirements and expertise in curriculum development, design and assessment.
• A growing, modern learning environment that incorporates state-of-the-art simulators and practical training, as well as coast to coast to coast online learning delivery via OnCourse and soon to be operational Regional Learning Centres.

Key Initiatives

Fleet Renewal: ongoing fleet sustainability requires building new ships, air cushion vehicles, helicopters, and securing interim measures, as required, to maintain operational capacity until new assets can be delivered.

The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) includes the renewal of Coast Guard’s fleet of large and small vessels

Large Vessels

Five large vessels were approved and funded when the NSS was announced in 2010:

• Three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels have been delivered from Vancouver Shipyards
• One Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel is under construction at Vancouver Shipyards
• One Polar Icebreaker will be built. A second Polar Icebreaker was approved in 2021

In 2019, DFO secured funding for an additional 24 CCG large vessels:

• Up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels, to be built by Vancouver Shipyards
• Two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship variants, to be built by Irving’s Halifax Shipyard
• Six Program Icebreakers, to be built at the third NSS Canadian shipyard

Small Vessels

Renewal of the small fleet is also underway:

• 22 small vessels delivered as part of the current recapitalization cycle
• Another eight Search and Rescue lifeboats in progress

International Collaboration

Coast Guard maintains strong partnerships with a number of countries, most notably the United States, and participates in various multilateral fora

• Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF)
• North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum (NACGF)
• North Pacific Coast Guard Forum (NPCGF)

Coast Guard is engaged in a variety of capacity building activities

• Personnel cross-training assignments (e.g., Korean Coast Guard)
• Instructor participation in training courses (e.g., Chile’s Advanced Training for Ships Operating in Polar Waters)
• Tailored instructor training (e.g., Costa Rican Coast Guard)
• Deployment of mentors to exercises (e.g., CUTLASS EXPRESS)
• Participation in capacity building meetings and working groups (e.g., the G7++ Friends of Gulf of Guinea meetings and virtual working groups, and the Maritime Security Working Group)

The Coast Guard also participates in numerous international committees to consider the use of standards, strategies, and technologies in Canada

• International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities
• International Maritime Organization’s sub-committee on Navigation Communication and Search and Rescue
• International Hydrographic Organization’s World Wide Navigational Warning Service sub-committee

Partnerships

Coast Guard provides operational platforms and expertise to several federal partners, including:

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

• Vessel platforms to various programs such as Science, Conservation and Protection, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• Supports law enforcement agencies, such as through the Marine Security Enforcement Teams to enhance marine security in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway. Patrol vessels maintained and operated by the Coast Guard carry uniformed RCMP officers who provide an enforcement capability, in accordance with the powers of the RCMP.

Transport Canada

• Supports the enforcement of marine regulations

Annex: Coast Guard Partnerships

Partners

• Industry
• Federal Departments (e.g., DFO, DND/CAF, TC, RCMP, ECCC, NRCan, CBSA, Public Safety)
• Indigenous Governments and Organizations:
  • Indigenous and coastal communities
  • Regional and national Indigenous groups/ associations (e.g., First Nations Emergency Management Network)
• The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
• Other levels of government (provinces, territories, municipalities)

Clients

• Canadians
• Mariners
• Fish harvesters
• Local communities
• Recreational boaters
• Ferry operators

Think Tanks / Academia

• Clear Seas
• Universities and colleges across Canada
• CCGS Amundsen/ Science
• ArcticNet
• MEOPAR

International

• International bodies
  • International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)
  • International Maritime Organization (IMO)
  • International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
• Regional Fora (e.g., Arctic, North Atlantic, North Pacific)
• Bilateral cooperation and capacity-building
  • US; Norway; Denmark; United Kingdom; Chile; Costa Rica; South Korea