The Nanisivik Naval Facility is a Canadian Forces naval facility on Baffin Island, Nunavut. The station is built at the former lead-zinc mine site near the former company town of Nanisivik. The facility was undergoing final testing in mid-2019. Full operational capability had been expected to be achieved by mid-2020 with the first refuelling of a Royal Canadian Navy ship. However, in July 2020 it was confirmed that work on the facility would not be completed until 2022. On 30 March 2022, it was reported that the completion of the facility would be further delayed to 2023. Then in November 2022, the Auditor General of Canada reported that the facility would start to be used by the navy regularly beginning in 2025.
HMCS Goose Bay moored at Nanisivik.
The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 Halifax-class frigates, 12 Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, 4 Victoria-class submarines, 4 Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels, 8 Orca-class patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,400 Regular Force and 4,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.
HMCS Québec, formerly HMS Uganda, was one of many ships commissioned by the RCN in the Second World War. Expanding substantially during the war, the RCN had become the world's fifth-largest navy by 1945.
Four F2H-3 Banshee fly overhead HMCS Bonaventure. Bonaventure was the last aircraft carrier in service with the RCN.
HMCS Athabaskan departing Halifax for the Persian Gulf as part of the Coalition forces. Canada deployed three ships in support of Operation Desert Shield, and later Operation Desert Storm
CFB Halifax is the headquarters for RCN units from Maritime Forces Atlantic.
