Program directory · National Defence
Icebreaking Services
- Department
- National Defence
- Program code
- BYX01 (ND)
- Core responsibility
- Marine Navigation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2026-27 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Icebreaking Services program provides ice-related information services, operational awareness and icebreaking support to facilitate safe and accessible navigation for Canadian and International commercial marine transportation sectors as well as fishers through and around ice-covered Canadian waters. Specific icebreaking activities include escorting ships through ice-covered waters, freeing beset vessels in ice, maintaining open tracks through shore-fast ice, conducting harbour breakouts, providing ice routing advice, and reducing the risk of flooding through monitoring, prevention and breaking up of ice jams. Canadian Arctic sovereignty is bolstered by Icebreaking Services as it transports goods/supplies to northern communities, provides support to other government agencies and organizations in ice-infested waters, and is a visible federal government marine presence in the Canadian north. Coast Guard's Fleet Operational Capability, Procurement and Maintenance programs are integral to the delivery of this program. This program is delivered in coordination with Environment and Climate Change Canada's Ice Information services. The legal basis for this program is found in the Oceans Act, the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Constitution Act, 13 Provincial & territorial governments and in virtue of an agreement with Transport Canada, the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, 2001.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in the Departmental Plans in 2026-27. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Icebreaking Services | This program | 2026-27 – 2028-29 | — |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
No significant changes detected.
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
No results reported yet.
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 0% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $13.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $13.6M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $13.6M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 7 | — |
| 2027-28 | 7* | — |
| 2028-29 | 7* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 plan | $13,599,577 | $13,599,577 | $13,599,577 |
| Actual |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
