MacLeod said the massive project will require the time, talent, products and services of hundreds of companies over several years, noting the project will provide continuous employment for about 1,400 people.
The bulk of the work will be done at Seaspan’s North Vancouver Shipyard, which was purpose-built for the polar icebreaker project.
Liberal cabinet ministers announced Thursday the government had doubled the number of heavy icebreakers it will build over the next decade, with Seaspan and Quebec-based Chantier Davie being given one each.
The surprise announcement followed nearly two years of questions — and intense lobbying from the shipyards — over Ottawa’s plans for the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker.