Year: 2026

HMCS Star, the Royal Canadian Navy’s land-based Naval Reserve Division in Hamilton, is in line for significant upgrades. Construction on the planned redevelopment is expected to begin in 2029, marking the first major project at the facility in more than three decades.

HMCS Charlottetown is heading to the Philippines to take part in Exercise BALIKATAN — the country’s first-ever active participation in the annual U.S.-led joint military drill.

On April 15, 2026, the Canadian Forces Military Police (CF MP) charged two members of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with multiple service offences as a result of the investigation into the death of Petty Officer 2nd Class (PO2) Gregory Applin.

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has designated the wrecks of two Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Flower-class corvettes, HMCS Trentonian and HMCS Regina, as “Controlled Sites” under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

During its transit, the KSS-III submarine will make logistical stops in Guam and Hawaii. In Hawaii, two Royal Canadian Navy submariners will embark on the submarine and join the ROK Navy crew for the voyage onward to Victoria.

The latest refinement of the design (based on the UK Type 26 frigate hull), which will produce up to 15 guided-missile destroyers (DDGH) to replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired Iroquois-class destroyers. The first ship, HMCS Fraser, is already under construction at Irving Shipbuilding, with delivery expected in the early 2030s.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday that Canada has officially achieved NATO’s 2% of GDP defence spending target – half a decade ahead of the previous government’s schedule. The announcement was made during a news conference aboard HMCS Margaret Brooke, an Arctic and offshore patrol ship of the Royal Canadian Navy, at HMC Dockyard Halifax.

Departing Key West, Florida on March 6, 2026, His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Yellowknife has officially concluded its deployment on Operation CARIBBE, where it conducted detection and monitoring activities, and provided support to lawful operations against illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea.

In an official announcement released on February 26, 2026, the RCN detailed the results of a comprehensive Occupation Analysis that will reshape how the Navy trains, organizes, and sustains its workforce for the decades ahead.

The upgrade forms a key pillar of the broader “Victoria-Class Modernization (VCM)” project, which aims to extend the operational life of these submarines into the mid-to-late 2030s while Canada prepares for their eventual replacement with up to 12 new conventionally powered submarines.