Coastal Gateway Calls for Federal Shipbuilding and Port Sustainability Fund in 2026 Finance Committee Submission
Coastal Gateway calling for the creation of a Coastal Gateway Shipbuilding and Port Sustainability Fund
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, April 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Submission inspires long-term Canadian investment in shipbuilding, port infrastructure, NATO supply-chain collaboration, skilled trades, and standardized vessel productionCoastal Gateway has submitted recommendations to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance calling for the creation of a Coastal Gateway Shipbuilding and Port Sustainability Fund to support long-term Canadian shipbuilding, port modernization, domestic fabrication, and industrial supply-chain development.
Coastal Gateway is working to develop a $6 billion to $8 billion long-term shipbuilding, port sustainability, and industrial supply-chain fund alongside provincial, federal, industry, and private capital partners. Coastal Gateway is also looking to collaborate with all NATO partners to bring forward results-based solutions for advanced technology, shipbuilding capacity, defence readiness, and supply-chain development.
The proposed fund is intended to support Canadian-controlled infrastructure, long-term vessel production, domestic fabrication, skilled trades training, port modernization, and supply-chain resilience across Canada.
The submission sets out a vision for Canada to move beyond short-term project funding and build a predictable, long-term investment model that gives shipyards, ports, fabricators, steel producers, equipment suppliers, industry partners, and skilled trades employers the sustainability needed to plan, hire, train, and build over decades.
Coastal Gateway’s recommendations focus on a national funding framework that can support ship construction, repair, refit, drydock expansion, port electrification, modular fabrication, and the domestic supply chain required to deliver vessels in Canada. The submission also calls for funding to be placed into a long-term sustainability structure so predictable orders can be made over multiple years rather than relying on one-off procurement cycles.
“Canada has the workforce, steel, industrial capacity, ports, and regional partners needed to build more of our own vessels here at home,” said Mike Butler, CEO of Coastal Gateway. “What is needed now is a long-term funding model that allows Canadian companies to invest, train workers, and build the supply chain required for shipbuilding, defence readiness, ferry renewal, and port resilience.”
The submission recommends that Canadian shipbuilding contracts be made available to all qualified and available shipyards across Canada, including emerging yards and start-ups that have partnerships with experienced builders, proven operators, qualified technical teams, or established marine construction partners. This approach would expand national capacity, reduce delivery bottlenecks, support regional economic development, and create more competition within Canada’s shipbuilding sector.
Coastal Gateway also identifies the opportunity to modernize certification and regulatory pathways that can slow production timelines. The submission recommends that Canada move away from unnecessary reliance on Lloyd’s Register standards where Canadian and provincial standards can provide clear, enforceable, safety-based certification. Coastal Gateway supports local Canadian standards, enforced through provincial certification systems, using technology-based tools, digital inspection records, modular design approvals, workforce credential tracking, and streamlined quality assurance systems to improve speed, accountability, and production certainty.
The submission highlights the importance of direct investment in long-term career training, including welding apprenticeships, marine trades, fabrication, modular assembly, industrial construction, inspection, design, and related supply-chain jobs. Coastal Gateway recommends these programs be tied directly to shipbuilding and port infrastructure so workers can build long-term careers across Canada’s industrial base, not just short-term project jobs.
The submission also calls for all Canadian fabrication facilities across Canada to have opportunities to participate in the national shipbuilding supply chain. Coastal Gateway recommends a model built around repeated, common, interchangeable ship designs that allow components, modules, steel sections, electrical systems, mechanical systems, and vessel assemblies to be produced by qualified facilities across the country and integrated through Canadian shipyards.
Coastal Gateway also recommends that federal funding agencies, including Export Development Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, be empowered to work directly with provincial governments, Canadian lenders, domestic industry partners, and private capital to finance shipbuilding and port infrastructure without requiring foreign investment to complete strategic projects.
As part of this recommendation, Coastal Gateway calls for the removal of matching-fund requirements that restrict access to Canada Infrastructure Bank support where Canadian projects already demonstrate national strategic value, bankable demand, domestic industrial capacity, and long-term public benefit. The submission notes that rigid matching-fund rules can unintentionally favour foreign banks, foreign capital structures, and outside control of Canadian infrastructure projects.
“Canadian infrastructure funding should help Canadian projects get built by Canadian partners,” Butler added. “When matching requirements force projects to depend on foreign capital before Canadian public institutions can participate, we risk slowing down our own strategic infrastructure and weakening Canadian control over projects that are essential to our economy, security, and industrial future.”
The submission positions shipbuilding and port sustainability as nation-building infrastructure, supporting economic development, coastal communities, emergency response, clean-power integration, national defence readiness, domestic manufacturing, and long-term trade resilience.
“A coordinated federal-provincial-industry-private capital model would help unlock investment, protect Canadian jobs, and create a stronger domestic shipbuilding base for generations,” Butler said.
Media Contact:
Mike Butler
CEO, Coastal Gateway
MikeButler@coastalgatewayport.com
https://www.coastalgatewayport.com
Mike Butler
Coastal Gateway
Mike@coastalgatewayport.com
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