Sydney, N.S., selected as the preferred maintenance port for new Arctic icebreakers

Sydney, N.S., has the inside track on becoming the maintenance hub for the Canadian Coast Guard’s upcoming polar icebreakers.

The federal government announced today that the Cape Breton port is the preferred location as the maintenance base for the vessels.

Ottawa cited the port’s deep water, proximity to Sydney’s Canadian Coast Guard Academy and the fact it has one of the shortest routes to the Arctic from Eastern Canada.

It’s also near Halifax, headquarters of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Atlantic fleet.

The coast guard is buying two new polar icebreakers, which will be the largest in the fleet, to help bolster Canada’s Arctic presence, with delivery of the new vessels expected in the 2030s.

The government says due diligence, planning, consultations with Indigenous groups and talks with local landowners are all needed before the project moves ahead.

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