A Quebec shipbuilder含羞草研究社檚 expansion to the United States is part of the Biden administration含羞草研究社檚 renewed focus on Arctic defence 含羞草研究社� and a way to get around protectionist law dating back decades.

On Monday, the White House announced that Quebec-based Davie shipbuilding is in talks to make a 含羞草研究社渕ajor investment含羞草研究社� in an existing American shipyard. Davie says the U.S. government wants the company to have a presence in the country because it含羞草研究社檚 a 含羞草研究社渨orld leader含羞草研究社� in building icebreakers.

The development follows news earlier this month that Canada, the U.S. and Finland have formed a pact to collaborate on building polar icebreakers in an effort to counter Russian and Chinese ambitions in the Far North. The Pentagon released an updated Arctic strategy last week warning of Russia and China含羞草研究社檚 increased presence in the region.

含羞草研究社淚n the overall geopolitical environment, there含羞草研究社檚 a greater understanding that the Arctic is renewing its importance as a centre of geopolitical significance,含羞草研究社� said Rob Huebert, a University of Calgary professor studying Arctic sovereignty and security.

Huebert said Russia has a 含羞草研究社渟ignificant advantage含羞草研究社� in the number of icebreakers at its disposal, allowing it to manoeuvre more easily in the Arctic compared with the U.S. and its allies.

含羞草研究社淐anada and the United States have had great difficulty in ever being able to 含羞草研究社� get their act together to build icebreakers,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 been a gong show, to put it politely.含羞草研究社�

Huebert said the countries want to pool resources to build the vessels, which can navigate through ice-covered waters and provide safe passage to other ships. But a major barrier is protectionist U.S. law, which requires the country含羞草研究社檚 navy and coast guard vessels to be built in the United States. The legislation means Canadian companies can含羞草研究社檛 build icebreakers for the United States from shipyards in Canada.

Finland含羞草研究社檚 entry into NATO in 2023 marked a turning point in the Western allies含羞草研究社� ability to collaborate on a shipbuilding strategy for Arctic defence, Huebert said, since Finland has designed about 80 per cent of the world含羞草研究社檚 icebreakers. Earlier this month on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Canada signed a trilateral agreement with the U.S. and Finland, called the ICE Pact, to boost the production of icebreakers.

This week含羞草研究社檚 announcement, Huebert said, is a 含羞草研究社渧ery important step forward含羞草研究社� in ensuring that pact will 含羞草研究社渂e something more than words.含羞草研究社�

Last year, Davie purchased Finland含羞草研究社檚 Helsinki shipyard, which has built more than half the world含羞草研究社檚 icebreaker fleet. 含羞草研究社淲hat seems to be shaping up is that this then allowed Davie shipyard to basically take that technology that they have acquired from the Finns and then build it in the United States,含羞草研究社� he said.

Davie has to have a physical presence in the U.S. to comply with the legislation. Marcel Poulin, a spokesperson for the shipbuilder, said the company is having 含羞草研究社渃onfidential conversations with various shipyards in the U.S.含羞草研究社� about either a partnership or an acquisition.

含羞草研究社淭he reason why the U.S. is interested in having Davie come to the U.S. market is precisely because we are the world leader in icebreakers,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 proof that no one can dispute that Davie is definitely the world leader in this niche market.含羞草研究社�

Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards currently has a contract with the United States Coast Guard to build three heavy polar icebreakers, the first American-built ships of their kind in more than 50 years.

Earlier this year, Davie secured an $8.5-billion government contract as part of Canada含羞草研究社檚 national shipbuilding strategy to build seven icebreakers, including one polar class, and two hybrid-powered ferries. Vancouver-based Seaspan Shipyards is building a second polar icebreaker.

The developments mark a turnaround for the company, which was excluded from the federal shipbuilding plan for more than a decade. Poulin said Davie has relied on funding from the provincial government to get to this point, including $520 million to help the company modernize its shipyard in L茅vis, Que., and another $110 million to help with the acquisition of the Finnish shipyard.

This week含羞草研究社檚 news places Davie in a 含羞草研究社渟trategically, and I would dare say economically, very significant position,含羞草研究社� Huebert said. But he added that it含羞草研究社檚 hard to predict what a second Trump presidency could mean for the future of the icebreaker agreement. On one hand, he said, a future Trump administration may not believe Russia poses as much of a threat as the Democrats do. On the other hand, 含羞草研究社渢he practicality and necessity of building icebreakers含羞草研究社� could carry the day.

Poulin said he hopes the ICE Pact will convince other NATO allies to purchase icebreakers from Canadian, American and Finnish shipyards.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2024.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press