Canada to spend C$11 billion to build six new icebreakers, Carney says

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday the federal government would invest more than C$11 billion ($7.95 billion) to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Speaking in Levis, Quebec, Carney said the ships would be built by Quebec shipbuilder Chantier Davie and would replace the Coast Guard’s aging heavy and medium icebreakers.

After Russia, Canada has the world’s second-largest fleet of icebreakers, which routinely escort U.S. ships heading to the Arctic. Carney has previously pledged to ensure Canada has the ability to protect its vast Arctic without relying on any other country.

($1 = 1.3832 Canadian dollars

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto. Editing by Mark Potter)