3,000 Jobs across Canada Generated from Irving’s NSPS Commitments

Today the Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding marked the installation of the final piece of steel frame for the Assembly and Ultra Hall Production facility that will produce the Navy’s newest combat fleet starting in September 2015.  The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Honourable Peter MacKay, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Canada and Minister Responsible for Nova Scotia joined Irving Shipbuilding’s executive team and provincial and municipal leaders to celebrate this important National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) milestone.

“The Government of Canada congratulates Irving Shipbuilding on the important progress being made on this facility. Through our Government's commitment to providing state-of-the-art equipment for our men and women in uniform, we are providing jobs and economic opportunities for families across the province,” said Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister Responsible for Nova Scotia.  “As Nova Scotians, we can be proud of the pivotal role our province is playing in our country's National Shipbuilding Strategy.”

“We’re extremely pleased with the progress on our facilities and are confident we’ll be ready to start building in September of next year,” said Kevin McCoy, President, Irving Shipbuilding.  “We expect our buildings to be weather tight by the end of this year, when we’ll shift our focus to the interior and the incredible amount of work left to make them production-ready.  The men and women of Irving Shipbuilding certainly can’t wait to get started.” 

“The Government of Nova Scotia congratulates Irving Shipbuilding and the Government of Canada on this important milestone,” said Nova Scotia Environment Minister Andrew Younger. “Nova Scotia is proud to be known around the world for our shipbuilding abilities, and we are pleased to be a partner in making sure we maximize the benefits of this project for our economy and our communities now, and into the future.”

“We’d like to take the opportunity to thank the more than 3,000 direct and indirect employees across Canada estimated to be involved in NSPS-related work based on our commitments alone.  They’re working on updating and modernizing our yard and facilities, they’re building us new systems and equipment, and they’re doing all the preparatory design, planning and procurement work to make the first set of ships go as smoothly as possible,” added McCoy.  “It’s often been said that a defence program of this magnitude extends far beyond the shipyard itself.  We have certainly seen evidence of that, even at these still early stages.”

Irving Shipbuilding has committed more than $310M in Canada to date in contracts, procurement, goods and services related to the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS), including both the Yard Modernization program and the work underway on the AOPS Definition Contract.  A full 47%, or $146M, of that commitment has been made in Nova Scotia, engaging companies owned or operating in the province in our supply chain.  This commitment has created more than 1,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in Nova Scotia with our company, with our suppliers and with their direct suppliers and $75M in employment income.  In addition, it has generated $21M in local, provincial and federal taxes paid, as well as $56M in consumer spending over a two-year period (see Note).

Across Canada, the NSPS commitment to date has boosted Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) by $255M, created more than 3,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions across Canada (direct and indirect) and generated $187M worth of employment income in the country over a two-year period. It has also generated more than $139M worth of consumer spending and approximately $63M worth of taxes for federal, provincial and local governments.

Note - From the economic impact assessment prepared by Jupia Consultants Inc. using the following methodology: Direct and indirect full-time equivalent employment, employment income, gross domestic product (GDP) and other indirect taxes are derived using Statistics Canada I/O tables for Nova Scotia and for the national economy. Consumer spending and taxes generated estimates are derived using Statistics Canada's Survey of Household Spending for 2011 (CANSIM Table 203-002) and other sources.

About Irving Shipbuilding
Irving Shipbuilding is part of the J.D. Irving, Limited Group of companies and is in the business of building quality ships and repairing vessels. The company’s primary site is Halifax Shipyard, with three other locations in the Maritime Provinces. Irving Shipbuilding was selected in 2011 as Canada’s Combatant Shipbuilder under the merit-based National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy and is in the early stages of a 30-year military shipbuilding program. It is currently working on a number of significant projects for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Employees of Walters Steel and members of Ironworkers Local 752 install the signed structural steel beam on Irving Shipbuilding's new production building, representing two of the more than 3,000 full-time equivalents generated to date from the Company's NSPS commitments.

Left to right: Mayor Mike Savage, Minister Peter MacKay, Minister Diane Finley, Irving Shipbuilding's Director of Yard Modernization Doug Dean, Irving Shipbuilding President Kevin McCoy, and Provincial Minister Andrew Younger celebrate the installation of last structural steel for Irving Shipbuilding's new production building.

Walters Steel employees accept the signed beam for installation high up on Irving Shipbuilding's new production building after a commemorative event on September 3, 2014 involving federal, provincial, and municipal officials.