Canada to send warships to Indo-Pacific twice in 2026
Canada is sending warships back to the Indo-Pacific in August and November as it builds a larger security and trade role there.
Canada will send Royal Canadian Navy warships to the Indo-Pacific twice in 2026, with deployments planned for August and November that will include exercises and port calls in Japan.
During a June 2026 visit to Tokyo, Defence Minister David McGuinty said he was working to advance Canada-Japan defence relations, strengthen economic ties and expand cooperation in defence, aerospace, advanced technologies and supply-chain resilience. McGuinty said Canada was strengthening ties with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, while managing relations with Beijing “with discipline.” He also said Canada still had a strong relationship with the United States, but added that “obviously, things have changed.”
Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, launched in November 2022, defines the region as 40 economies, more than four billion people and $47.19 trillion in economic activity, and places it at the center of peace and security, trade and supply chains, people-to-people ties, sustainability and active regional engagement. In 2024, Canada said the Royal Canadian Navy would deploy three warships to the Indo-Pacific each year under Operation HORIZON, with HMCS Vancouver, HMCS Max Bernays, HMCS Montreal and HMCS Ottawa among the ships rotating through the region. Canada also sent about 300 Canadian Armed Forces members to RIMPAC 2024, an exercise involving 29 nations, roughly 40 surface ships and more than 25,000 personnel.
Global Affairs Canada said the June 23-26 Team Canada Trade Mission to the Indo-Pacific was the largest since the program began in 2023, with close to 300 delegates from about 175 organizations traveling to Tokyo. Global Affairs Canada said Japan was Canada’s fifth-largest merchandise trading partner in 2025, with Canadian exports to Japan totaling $14.6 billion and imports from Japan reaching $21.1 billion.
Japan’s foreign ministry said talks on June 25 focused on economic security, energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and food, along with defence and security cooperation. McGuinty said Canadian and Japanese companies were also scheduled to sign three defence agreements that day. The timing followed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s March 2026 visit to Japan and the Canada-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced that same month.
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