Unifor celebrates federal government signing Halifax Shipyard contract, the largest ever "Buy Canadian" domestic procurement project
HALIFAX, NS, March 8, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor is celebrating the federal government's signing of the River-class destroyer (RCD) contract with Irving Shipbuilding – the largest and most significant "Buy Canadian" procurement program, and largest shipbuilding effort since WWII.
"There is perhaps no moment more significant than the one we're in right now to prove the value and importance of domestic procurement," said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
"From the early days of the National Shipbuilding Program, through its now 15 years in action, Unifor has supported the growth and transformation of the Halifax Shipyard and we have witnessed the positive results for workers, where these jobs are now good paying, hire-to-retire careers.
Today, we celebrate the program's continued success as the members of Unifor MWF Local 1 prepare to build the future of defense for Canada's Arctic and beyond."
Unifor MWF Local 1 represents 1,200 members at the Halifax Shipyard, where the Canadian shipbuilding sector was rebuilt after decades of boom and bust. Preparations have already begun for the April 2025 start of the RCD, formerly known as the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program, including work on a test module that began last year.
"I send my congratulations to the shipbuilders at MWF Local 1 – this is a moment every Canadian should celebrate," said Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray. "Unifor members at the Halifax Shipyard take great pride in their work and are honoured to build what becomes a home away from home for members of the Royal Canadian Navy. Their hard work and masterful shipbuilding is what has brought us to this moment."
In 2011, the federal government named Irving Shipbuilding as the facility that would build the combat package, the largest portion of work under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
Led by then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, government worked across party lines to build the procurement program to not only deliver the ships the Royal Canadian Navy needed but do it in a way that ensured public money stayed in Canada, supported Canadian workers and their families, and established a more reliable supply chain.
The design contract for the RCD was signed in 2019. Today's contract signing for construction marks the final step before Irving Shipbuilding begins cutting steel for the first three ships.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
SOURCE Unifor
For media inquiries, please contact Unifor National Communications Representative: Shelley Amyotte at [email protected] 902-717-7491.
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