The Canadian Coast Guard is Canada’s civilian maritime security agency, responsible for search and rescue operations, navigation aids, icebreaking, marine traffic services and pollution response across the country’s vast coastline and inland waterways.
Formed in 1962 and headquartered in Ottawa, the Coast Guard operates as a special agency within the Department of National Defence. Its fleet comprises 119 vessels of varying classes and 23 helicopters, deployed across three ocean coasts — Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic — plus the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway. The agency’s icebreaking capability is particularly vital for maintaining winter navigation routes and supporting scientific research in polar regions. As a civilian rather than military service, the CCG works alongside federal departments and provincial authorities to ensure maritime safety, environmental protection and the security of one of the world’s longest and most challenging coastlines.
