New Coast Guard icebreaker named CCGS Judy Lamarsh

By Maritime Magazine
2022-10-03

Prescott, ON – Ensuring that Canadian Coast Guard personnel have the equipment they need to keep Canada’s waterways navigable is a key priority for the Canadian Coast Guard. The Canadian Coast Guard recently purchased a light icebreaker that will supplement its operations in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and Atlantic regions.

Today, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader and Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, Mark Gerretsen, officially announced that the Canadian Coast Guard’s newest light icebreaker has been named the CCGS Judy LaMarsh.

Parliamentary Secretary Gerretsen, on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, was joined by Fernando Mojica, Senior Director of the Fleet, Central Region of the Canadian Coast Guard in the name unveiling ceremony at the Canadian Coast Guard Base in Prescott, Ontario.

The Honourable Judy LaMarsh was one of the first women to serve as a federal Cabinet Minister, as Minister of National Health and Welfare and Minister of Amateur Sport (1963-1965). She was instrumental in the development of innovative federal programs, including Medicare and the Canada Pension Plan. While serving as Canada’s Secretary of State (1965-1968), the Honourable Judy LaMarsh helped to establish the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. In recognition of her many years of service, the Honourable Judy LaMarsh was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1980.

Following a competitive process, the Canadian Coast Guard announced the purchase of a light icebreaker from Atlantic Towing Limited in November 2021. This vessel — now named the CCGS Judy LaMarsh — is currently undergoing design and conversion work at the Canadian Coast Guard’s Prescott Base. The vessel will be ready to serve Canadians as early as the 2022-2023 icebreaking season, allowing other vessels to undergo important maintenance and life extension work as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Upon joining the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet, the CCGS Judy LaMarsh will perform icebreaking duties as well as tend to the navigational buoys in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and Atlantic regions. In addition, the vessel will be available for search and rescue and other emergency response operations when needed.

(Photo Fisheries and Oceans Canada)