List of current ships of the Royal Canadian Navy

CFB Esquimalt is on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, and is home to 15 vessels and 6,000 staff, the headquarters for Maritime Forces Pacific, His Majesty's Canadian (HMC) Dockyard Esquimalt, Fleet Maintenance Facility – Cape Breton (FMF-CB), Fire Fighting and Damage Control School, the Naval Officer Training Centre (NOTC Venture), and extensive housing.

CFB Halifax employs 7,000 civilians and military staff, and hosts the Canadian Atlantic Fleet headquarters, HMC Dockyard Halifax, FMF Cape Scott, extensive maritime research facilities, an ammunition depot, and the four maritime squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force that deploy helicopters aboard ships.

In response to recent global security interests, the role of the class has shifted from open ocean to littoral engagement.

To ensure effective long-term capacity in this new threat environment the ships underwent a refit, including passive and active weapons, radars, and new combat architecture to meet the modern requirements.

The class is based on the Norwegian Coast Guard ship NoCGV Svalbard, and is named after Vice Admiral Harry DeWolf.

Regular force boatswains, engineers and naval communicators serve in these ships to train junior officers and non-commissioned sailors.

They also patrol coastal waters for pollution infractions and fishing violations, and are frequently tasked for search and rescue operations.

[23] Potential suppliers: While up to 15 warships of the River-class destroyer program is in the test module construction phase (with the first three ships having been ordered in 2024), the RCN has upgraded all current frigates with advanced systems and life extension maintenance to maximize operational capability into the 2030s.

[27][28] On 29 April 2019 Ocean Industries was awarded a contract to build four tugboats to replace both the Fire-class fireboat (one retired in 2014) and Glen-class tugs to be delivered beginning in 2021.