Forget Syria, Russia's muscle is moving closer to Canada's doorstep

well the previous government didn't do much about this from a military capability point of view, lets see what the new government is going to do (if anything).

Nothing they can do, there is not enough cash.

if Alberta can run a 35 Billion deficit in 4 years, and the feds are going into stimulus for 15 Billion a year for at least 3 years, we can afford 5 billion for ships...build right here...isn't much better of a stimulus spend than that!

Build the ships here? Are you kidding? Your grandfather built ships, worldclass planes, and automobiles! Even knew how to use a shovel in a coal mine. You're only allowed to ship ore, raw logs, natural gas and bitumen (don't even think of turning it into oil first!).
Oh yeah, and WATER. They'll make us sell water too, even if they have to pay $4 per million litres.

Only them Commies in the East make things.

The ships are part of it, but you also have to pay the sailors and have supplies for these operations. This can't be a sole navy thing either, you will have to enhance the military presence in the north, which is cost man power and resources the military does not have. If you want a better military you are going to have get the money from somewhere and since we have had a down turn in commodities that would mean austerity measures. Which I wouldn't hold my breath for.

If it comes with a pledge to have them built in Canada then not a single hull will go into the water. If they have to revamp a shipyard, or build an entire new one, it'll turn into the usual procurement dog and pony show that only succeeds in wasting money and achieving nothing tangible. Gotta smarten up and just buy some already existing vessels from the Americans or Germans and take it from there. Doing it the other way has another mega-boondoggle written all over it.

Attn: Canada
The USN will be having a Grey Fleet Fire Sale. All quality and ready to Fight, Dirt Cheap for Canada Only
Are US made and Designed Ships are far better then Hand me down cash grab UK Ships and sitting German Target Support Ships.

The thing is that the Conservatives already spent a ton of time and money re-jigging our shipyards to build ships for the Navy and Coast Guard and all that time, effort, and money would be wasted if we just bought from someone else.

The Halifaxes weren't a mega-boondoggle and I'm pretty sure that the new Surface Combatants won't be either. However, I do agree that our made-in-Canada approach tacks on an unacceptable premium of 30-50% and we'd be better off trying to limit that as much as possible by making sure as many systems as possible are off-the-shelf components already in use with other NATO navies.

That kind of approach would be win-win and still provide some jobs in the shipyards while at the same time making sure we get enough capable ships to meet our needs.

It will be interesting to see how the new defense minister preforms.