BUY CANADIAN? THEN BUILD CANADA’S SHIP-RECYCLING INDUSTRY
Ottawa has made another oil-export pipeline a national priority. Canadian ship recycling, manufacturing and lasting coastal jobs deserve the same urgency.
By John R. Roe
Veins of Life Watershed Society / Dead Boats Disposal Society
October 21, 2026
“We will build Canadian.”
Those were Prime Minister Mark Carney’s words on October 1, 2026, while promoting Pacific Link, the proposed oil pipeline his government has designated a project of national interest. He spoke about using Canadian steel and employing Canadian workers. [1] Prime Minister Canada
That is a promise worth holding him to.
Building Canada should mean more than building another route to send crude oil overseas. It should also mean building industries that recover valuable materials, manufacture useful products, protect our waterways and keep skilled people working here.
Ship recycling belongs in that conversation—not as an afterthought, but as a serious Canadian industrial opportunity.
By John R. Roe
Veins of Life Watershed Society / Dead Boats Disposal Society
October 21, 2026
“We will build Canadian.”
Those were Prime Minister Mark Carney’s words on October 1, 2026, while promoting Pacific Link, the proposed oil pipeline his government has designated a project of national interest. He spoke about using Canadian steel and employing Canadian workers. [1] Prime Minister Canada
That is a promise worth holding him to.
Building Canada should mean more than building another route to send crude oil overseas. It should also mean building industries that recover valuable materials, manufacture useful products, protect our waterways and keep skilled people working here.
Ship recycling belongs in that conversation—not as an afterthought, but as a serious Canadian industrial opportunity.
Buy Canadian in the speeches. A foreign option in the paperwork.
The federal government’s Medium/Large Vessel Recycling Services procurement, EVC01-202003/C, normally requires recycling work to be performed in Canada.
But its published notice also allows the contracting authority to consider bids involving recycling in another country when Canadian suppliers cannot perform the work, or when it cannot be done here in an environmentally sound and efficient manner. The destination must meet the notice’s international hazardous-waste conditions. [2] BidMaple
The clause does not prove that a particular vessel has been sent abroad. It does establish that the government has provided a route for that to happen.
And that raises an obvious question:
Why are we accommodating the shortage instead of putting equal effort into fixing it?
A missing Canadian facility should be a reason to build one—not a permanent excuse to send the work elsewhere.
The federal Buy Canadian initiative, effective December 16, 2025, promises to strengthen Canadian suppliers, workers and industries. Its supplier-and-content policy also allows departments to introduce those requirements into existing supply arrangements before their next renewal, provided the procurement documents are updated. Ottawa does not have to leave older arrangements untouched. [3] Canada
The challenge is bigger than changing a clause. Government purchasing should help develop the Canadian facilities needed to do the work.
The federal government’s Medium/Large Vessel Recycling Services procurement, EVC01-202003/C, normally requires recycling work to be performed in Canada.
But its published notice also allows the contracting authority to consider bids involving recycling in another country when Canadian suppliers cannot perform the work, or when it cannot be done here in an environmentally sound and efficient manner. The destination must meet the notice’s international hazardous-waste conditions. [2] BidMaple
The clause does not prove that a particular vessel has been sent abroad. It does establish that the government has provided a route for that to happen.
And that raises an obvious question:
Why are we accommodating the shortage instead of putting equal effort into fixing it?
A missing Canadian facility should be a reason to build one—not a permanent excuse to send the work elsewhere.
The federal Buy Canadian initiative, effective December 16, 2025, promises to strengthen Canadian suppliers, workers and industries. Its supplier-and-content policy also allows departments to introduce those requirements into existing supply arrangements before their next renewal, provided the procurement documents are updated. Ottawa does not have to leave older arrangements untouched. [3] Canada
The challenge is bigger than changing a clause. Government purchasing should help develop the Canadian facilities needed to do the work.
The Pacific Coast gap is documented
The European Union’s ship-recycling list that took effect on March 5, 2026, contains no approved facility on the Pacific coast of North, Central or South America.
Canada has no facility anywhere on that list. Its sole American facility is International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville, Texas, on the Gulf Coast. [4] Environment
European approval matters commercially. Large ships covered by the EU’s recycling rules must use listed facilities. A Canadian yard seeking that business would have to meet the required environmental and worker-safety standards and obtain approval. An ISO management certificate alone does not provide that approval. [5] Environment
That gives Canada a clear target: build a facility that competes for international work by meeting demanding standards—not by cutting corners.
Our proposed market extends beyond Canadian government vessels. We want to compete for suitable ferries, commercial ships, fishing vessels, cruise ships, barges and other marine assets from the Americas and the wider Pacific.
These are potential customers, not guaranteed contracts. But a serious industrial plan should look beyond the next unwanted federal vessel.
The European Union’s ship-recycling list that took effect on March 5, 2026, contains no approved facility on the Pacific coast of North, Central or South America.
Canada has no facility anywhere on that list. Its sole American facility is International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville, Texas, on the Gulf Coast. [4] Environment
European approval matters commercially. Large ships covered by the EU’s recycling rules must use listed facilities. A Canadian yard seeking that business would have to meet the required environmental and worker-safety standards and obtain approval. An ISO management certificate alone does not provide that approval. [5] Environment
That gives Canada a clear target: build a facility that competes for international work by meeting demanding standards—not by cutting corners.
Our proposed market extends beyond Canadian government vessels. We want to compete for suitable ferries, commercial ships, fishing vessels, cruise ships, barges and other marine assets from the Americas and the wider Pacific.
These are potential customers, not guaranteed contracts. But a serious industrial plan should look beyond the next unwanted federal vessel.
A ship is much more than scrap steel
Through Veins of Life Watershed Society and Dead Boats Disposal Society, we have spent years developing this proposal. Our August 2026 proponent brief brings together our work on vessel markets, potential industrial locations, environmental controls and a permanent Vancouver Island recycling operation. [6]
We are not proposing another dirty scrapyard.
We are proposing an industrial centre where vessels are carefully dismantled, useful equipment is recovered, materials are separated and hazardous waste is properly managed.
Our plan would connect dismantling with rebuilding engines, generators, pumps and machinery; recovering steel, aluminum and copper; and supplying usable equipment and materials to Canadian businesses.
The goal is to keep more of the work—and more of its value—in Canada.
Environmental protection must be designed into the facility from the beginning. Contaminated rainwater and wastewater must be captured and treated. Fuel handling, cutting areas and hazardous-material removal must be controlled. Every waste stream must have a documented destination.
The shoreline and seabed cannot become part of the waste-disposal system.
Our target is 100% accountability for the materials entering the yard. That does not mean pretending everything can be recycled. It means accounting for what is reused, what is recovered and what requires specialized treatment or safe disposal.
First Nations participation should be built into the project from the beginning, including opportunities for ownership, decision-making, training and employment. These are central elements of our proposal, not benefits to be added after the important decisions have already been made. [6]
Through Veins of Life Watershed Society and Dead Boats Disposal Society, we have spent years developing this proposal. Our August 2026 proponent brief brings together our work on vessel markets, potential industrial locations, environmental controls and a permanent Vancouver Island recycling operation. [6]
We are not proposing another dirty scrapyard.
We are proposing an industrial centre where vessels are carefully dismantled, useful equipment is recovered, materials are separated and hazardous waste is properly managed.
Our plan would connect dismantling with rebuilding engines, generators, pumps and machinery; recovering steel, aluminum and copper; and supplying usable equipment and materials to Canadian businesses.
The goal is to keep more of the work—and more of its value—in Canada.
Environmental protection must be designed into the facility from the beginning. Contaminated rainwater and wastewater must be captured and treated. Fuel handling, cutting areas and hazardous-material removal must be controlled. Every waste stream must have a documented destination.
The shoreline and seabed cannot become part of the waste-disposal system.
Our target is 100% accountability for the materials entering the yard. That does not mean pretending everything can be recycled. It means accounting for what is reused, what is recovered and what requires specialized treatment or safe disposal.
First Nations participation should be built into the project from the beginning, including opportunities for ownership, decision-making, training and employment. These are central elements of our proposal, not benefits to be added after the important decisions have already been made. [6]
The jobs argument is strong enough without inflated numbers
Canada’s marine economy is already substantial.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s preliminary estimates for 2024 show approximately 420,000 jobs and $51.9 billion in economic contribution nationally. Those totals include marine businesses, their suppliers and other employment supported by workers’ spending.
Marine activity originating in British Columbia supported approximately 182,000 jobs, including employment elsewhere in Canada generated by that activity. [7] Pêches et Océans Canada
These figures cover the whole marine economy, including offshore oil and gas. They are not a forecast of new ship-recycling jobs. [7] Pêches et Océans Canada
What they demonstrate is that Canada already has a large marine economic base worth strengthening.
Our ambition is a recycling and manufacturing industry capable of generating multibillion-dollar business over time. That is a development goal—not a completed economic forecast. Its actual size must be established from vessel volumes, operating costs, recovered-material markets and the businesses that could grow around it.
That means turning the research already assembled into a costed business and engineering plan—not inventing an enormous employment figure for a headline.
Our proposed industry would need mechanics, welders, electricians, engineers, crane operators, environmental specialists, transport workers and apprentices. It would also create opportunities for businesses supplying equipment, rebuilding machinery and processing recovered materials.
The opportunity is not simply to cut up ships. It is to build an industry around recovering their value.
Canada’s marine economy is already substantial.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s preliminary estimates for 2024 show approximately 420,000 jobs and $51.9 billion in economic contribution nationally. Those totals include marine businesses, their suppliers and other employment supported by workers’ spending.
Marine activity originating in British Columbia supported approximately 182,000 jobs, including employment elsewhere in Canada generated by that activity. [7] Pêches et Océans Canada
These figures cover the whole marine economy, including offshore oil and gas. They are not a forecast of new ship-recycling jobs. [7] Pêches et Océans Canada
What they demonstrate is that Canada already has a large marine economic base worth strengthening.
Our ambition is a recycling and manufacturing industry capable of generating multibillion-dollar business over time. That is a development goal—not a completed economic forecast. Its actual size must be established from vessel volumes, operating costs, recovered-material markets and the businesses that could grow around it.
That means turning the research already assembled into a costed business and engineering plan—not inventing an enormous employment figure for a headline.
Our proposed industry would need mechanics, welders, electricians, engineers, crane operators, environmental specialists, transport workers and apprentices. It would also create opportunities for businesses supplying equipment, rebuilding machinery and processing recovered materials.
The opportunity is not simply to cut up ships. It is to build an industry around recovering their value.
Pipelines—but where is the added Canadian processing?
The federal government says Pacific Link would allow another one million barrels of oil a day to reach overseas markets. It projects 140,000 jobs across Canada and more than $20 billion in annual economic contribution.
Those are government projections for a proposed project—not employment and revenues already delivered. [8] Prime Minister Canada
The October 1 announcement describes pipeline and export infrastructure. It does not announce construction of a new Canadian refinery as part of that project. [8] Prime Minister Canada
The question is not whether pipeline workers deserve employment. Of course they do.
The question is why another crude-oil export route receives such determined government backing while we are still pressing for a practical route to build a Canadian Pacific ship-recycling industry.
We should compare these opportunities honestly. How many lasting jobs would each investment support? How much processing and manufacturing would remain in Canada? What would taxpayers receive? What environmental costs and long-term liabilities would remain?
Existing marine employment and projected pipeline employment are different measurements. They cannot simply be placed beside each other to declare a winner.
But Canada should demand a fair comparison of where it puts its money, political attention and industrial effort.
The federal government says Pacific Link would allow another one million barrels of oil a day to reach overseas markets. It projects 140,000 jobs across Canada and more than $20 billion in annual economic contribution.
Those are government projections for a proposed project—not employment and revenues already delivered. [8] Prime Minister Canada
The October 1 announcement describes pipeline and export infrastructure. It does not announce construction of a new Canadian refinery as part of that project. [8] Prime Minister Canada
The question is not whether pipeline workers deserve employment. Of course they do.
The question is why another crude-oil export route receives such determined government backing while we are still pressing for a practical route to build a Canadian Pacific ship-recycling industry.
We should compare these opportunities honestly. How many lasting jobs would each investment support? How much processing and manufacturing would remain in Canada? What would taxpayers receive? What environmental costs and long-term liabilities would remain?
Existing marine employment and projected pipeline employment are different measurements. They cannot simply be placed beside each other to declare a winner.
But Canada should demand a fair comparison of where it puts its money, political attention and industrial effort.
Governments have already put ship recycling on paper
Canada and British Columbia have recognized this opportunity.
Their July 2, 2026 Cooperative Prosperity Agreement commits Canada to engage with B.C. on federal vessel programs, including potential shipbuilding, servicing and recycling locations on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland.
Its schedule places shipbuilding and recycling among commitments to be advanced on or before June 1, 2027. That is a commitment to government engagement and implementation work—not a promise that a new recycling yard will be operating by that date. [9] Prime Minister Canada
B.C.’s Look West strategy also expressly identifies building a ship-recycling industry with First Nations as a provincial goal. [10] Government of British Columbia
So we are not asking governments to discover the idea.
We are asking them to act on the direction they have already announced.
Publish a clear development timetable. Identify the officials responsible. Open a formal process inviting proposals for the necessary infrastructure. Establish how engineering, financing, environmental approvals and First Nations participation will move forward.
Review the foreign-recycling exception alongside that work, so federal purchasing helps develop Canadian capability rather than simply accepting its absence.
And use the research already completed. We do not need to keep starting from zero.
Canada and British Columbia have recognized this opportunity.
Their July 2, 2026 Cooperative Prosperity Agreement commits Canada to engage with B.C. on federal vessel programs, including potential shipbuilding, servicing and recycling locations on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland.
Its schedule places shipbuilding and recycling among commitments to be advanced on or before June 1, 2027. That is a commitment to government engagement and implementation work—not a promise that a new recycling yard will be operating by that date. [9] Prime Minister Canada
B.C.’s Look West strategy also expressly identifies building a ship-recycling industry with First Nations as a provincial goal. [10] Government of British Columbia
So we are not asking governments to discover the idea.
We are asking them to act on the direction they have already announced.
Publish a clear development timetable. Identify the officials responsible. Open a formal process inviting proposals for the necessary infrastructure. Establish how engineering, financing, environmental approvals and First Nations participation will move forward.
Review the foreign-recycling exception alongside that work, so federal purchasing helps develop Canadian capability rather than simply accepting its absence.
And use the research already completed. We do not need to keep starting from zero.
Build the industry, not just the slogan
We want ship recycling connected to a wider Canadian effort: rebuilding marine equipment, processing recovered materials, repairing wastewater infrastructure, cleaning contaminated industrial sites and restoring damaged shorelines.
That is the economy we want to help build—one where industrial employment and environmental responsibility support each other.
This is not a request for a sole-source contract. It is a call for an open, credible opportunity to develop Canadian infrastructure and compete for the work.
Prime Minister Carney has made his government’s support for Pacific Link unmistakable. We are asking for comparable seriousness about an industry that could recover resources and create lasting work in coastal communities. [8] Prime Minister Canada
Buying Canadian means more when Canadians have the facilities to do the job.
Build the recycling capacity. Recover the materials. Rebuild the machinery. Manufacture useful products. Protect the shorelines. Give workers and First Nations a meaningful stake in the opportunity.
Do not let a shortage of Canadian capacity become a permanent reason to send Canadian opportunity elsewhere.
We want ship recycling connected to a wider Canadian effort: rebuilding marine equipment, processing recovered materials, repairing wastewater infrastructure, cleaning contaminated industrial sites and restoring damaged shorelines.
That is the economy we want to help build—one where industrial employment and environmental responsibility support each other.
This is not a request for a sole-source contract. It is a call for an open, credible opportunity to develop Canadian infrastructure and compete for the work.
Prime Minister Carney has made his government’s support for Pacific Link unmistakable. We are asking for comparable seriousness about an industry that could recover resources and create lasting work in coastal communities. [8] Prime Minister Canada
Buying Canadian means more when Canadians have the facilities to do the job.
Build the recycling capacity. Recover the materials. Rebuild the machinery. Manufacture useful products. Protect the shorelines. Give workers and First Nations a meaningful stake in the opportunity.
Do not let a shortage of Canadian capacity become a permanent reason to send Canadian opportunity elsewhere.
References
[1] Prime Minister of Canada — Pacific Link speech, October 1, 2026.
Source of Carney’s exact statement, “We will build Canadian,” and his comments about Canadian materials and workers.
Read the official speech.
[2] Public Services and Procurement Canada — Medium/Large Vessel Recycling Services, EVC01-202003/C; notice PW-_MER-005-29423.
Source of the domestic-work requirement and conditional permission to consider recycling in another country.
Official CanadaBuys notice.
Public reproduction of the notice, including the foreign-processing clause.
The reproduced notice was used to check the clause because direct access to the official notice was blocked during this review.
[3] Public Services and Procurement Canada — Buy Canadian initiative and supplier-and-content policy.
The initiative took effect December 16, 2025. Section 1.3 of the supplier-and-content policy addresses existing supply arrangements and permits earlier incorporation of its requirements through an updated RFSA.
Buy Canadian overview.
Policy on Prioritizing Canadian Suppliers and Canadian Content in Strategic Federal Procurements.
[4] European Commission — Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/448.
Adopted February 27, published March 2 and effective March 5, 2026. Its annex lists approved facilities, including International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville, Texas.
Official decision and facility list.
European Commission explanation of the updated list.
[5] European Commission — Ship recycling rules and approval requirements.
Explains the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, the European List, environmental and worker-safety requirements, and applications from facilities outside the EU.
Read the Commission’s ship-recycling guidance.
[6] Veins of Life Watershed Society / Dead Boats Disposal Society — Vancouver Island High-Standard Ship Recycling and Marine Industrial Development Initiative: Proponent Brief, August 2026.
Society project document describing the proposed facility, environmental controls, material accountability, commercial approach and First Nations participation. Held in the societies’ project archive; it is a proponent proposal, not an independent employment or revenue forecast.
[7] Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Preliminary marine-economy estimates for 2024.
The provincial table reports 420,206 jobs and approximately $51.857 billion in national GDP, including direct, indirect and induced effects. It reports 182,448 jobs associated with B.C.-originating marine activity. Sector tables show that offshore oil and gas are included.
GDP and employment by province.
GDP by sector.
Employment by sector.
[8] Prime Minister of Canada — Pacific Link announcement, October 1, 2026.
Source of the national-interest designation and the government’s projections of additional export capacity, employment and annual GDP. The announcement describes a proposed project, not completed economic results.
Read the official announcement.
[9] Government of Canada — Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement, July 2, 2026.
See “Maritime Shipbuilding and Recycling” and the implementation schedule identifying June 1, 2027.
Read the agreement.
[10] Province of British Columbia — Look West: Diversifying Markets and Growing Targeted Sectors.
The Maritime section identifies developing a ship-recycling industry with First Nations as a provincial goal.
Read the maritime strategy.
[1] Prime Minister of Canada — Pacific Link speech, October 1, 2026.
Source of Carney’s exact statement, “We will build Canadian,” and his comments about Canadian materials and workers.
Read the official speech.
[2] Public Services and Procurement Canada — Medium/Large Vessel Recycling Services, EVC01-202003/C; notice PW-_MER-005-29423.
Source of the domestic-work requirement and conditional permission to consider recycling in another country.
Official CanadaBuys notice.
Public reproduction of the notice, including the foreign-processing clause.
The reproduced notice was used to check the clause because direct access to the official notice was blocked during this review.
[3] Public Services and Procurement Canada — Buy Canadian initiative and supplier-and-content policy.
The initiative took effect December 16, 2025. Section 1.3 of the supplier-and-content policy addresses existing supply arrangements and permits earlier incorporation of its requirements through an updated RFSA.
Buy Canadian overview.
Policy on Prioritizing Canadian Suppliers and Canadian Content in Strategic Federal Procurements.
[4] European Commission — Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/448.
Adopted February 27, published March 2 and effective March 5, 2026. Its annex lists approved facilities, including International Shipbreaking Limited in Brownsville, Texas.
Official decision and facility list.
European Commission explanation of the updated list.
[5] European Commission — Ship recycling rules and approval requirements.
Explains the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, the European List, environmental and worker-safety requirements, and applications from facilities outside the EU.
Read the Commission’s ship-recycling guidance.
[6] Veins of Life Watershed Society / Dead Boats Disposal Society — Vancouver Island High-Standard Ship Recycling and Marine Industrial Development Initiative: Proponent Brief, August 2026.
Society project document describing the proposed facility, environmental controls, material accountability, commercial approach and First Nations participation. Held in the societies’ project archive; it is a proponent proposal, not an independent employment or revenue forecast.
[7] Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Preliminary marine-economy estimates for 2024.
The provincial table reports 420,206 jobs and approximately $51.857 billion in national GDP, including direct, indirect and induced effects. It reports 182,448 jobs associated with B.C.-originating marine activity. Sector tables show that offshore oil and gas are included.
GDP and employment by province.
GDP by sector.
Employment by sector.
[8] Prime Minister of Canada — Pacific Link announcement, October 1, 2026.
Source of the national-interest designation and the government’s projections of additional export capacity, employment and annual GDP. The announcement describes a proposed project, not completed economic results.
Read the official announcement.
[9] Government of Canada — Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement, July 2, 2026.
See “Maritime Shipbuilding and Recycling” and the implementation schedule identifying June 1, 2027.
Read the agreement.
[10] Province of British Columbia — Look West: Diversifying Markets and Growing Targeted Sectors.
The Maritime section identifies developing a ship-recycling industry with First Nations as a provincial goal.
Read the maritime strategy.
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