Vice-Admiral (VAdm) Angus Topshee is the 38th Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). His diverse academic background includes military and civilian institutions on three continents. The highlight of his time at sea was his far too brief command of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Algonquin in 2009-2010 and, a close second, his three years in command of Canada’s Pacific Fleet. His shore postings include two tours in the Navy’s Strategy three years in command of Canadian Forces Base Halifax, and two years as the Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy, and Plans at NORAD and United States Northern Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 as the director of Afghan National Police Training within the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan. Over the course of his career, he has been involved with the Arctic at every one of his shore postings (except Afghanistan). Before taking command of the RCN in May 2022, VAdm Topshee had the honour and pleasure to command Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific, in Esquimalt, British Columbia.

The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact between Canada, Finland and the United States has revived interest in the state of the Canadian shipbuilding workforce and in taking stock of the solutions to address workforce recruitment and development challenges. The objective of this presentation is to engage key marine sector stakeholders on the opportunities the ICE Pact presents, the challenges faced by the Canadian shipbuilding industry, and insights into domestic and international initiatives to recruit and develop a skilled shipbuilding workforce.

It will focus on Canadian and international labour market issues; innovative programs in the marine industry; and effective practices and lessons learned.

Each group provides a short summary of the conclusions/recommendations from their work session.