NEAR CAMBRIDGE BAY, NTV. – Delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy last summer, HMCS Robert Hampton Gray is the newest Arctic and offshore patrol vessel helping bolster Canada’s presence in the North. On a brisk September day near Cambridge Bay, Nvt., during Operation Arctic Ghost with the Canadian Coast Guard and the RCMP, Cmdr. Brian Henwood surveys the bridge of the ship like an officer exactly where he wants to be. “I mean, this is our territory. These are our Arctic waters,” Henwood told CTV News. “Having our ships here, patrolling and making sure people aren’t coming through without our permission is critical.” “Personally speaking, the global order is changing, and I think the government is responding to that,” he also said. The navy ship is meeting up with the Canadian Coast Guard this week for joint exercises. CTV News is exclusively embedded on the coast guard’s Des Groseilliers icebreaker. Construction of the Robert Hampton Gray began in 2022, and the ship was delivered to the navy in 2025. The current mission, which began in August in Halifax, is the vessel’s first operational deployment as it makes its way to its home port of Esquimalt, B.C. by November. It also marks only the third time a Royal Canadian Navy warship has made a complete transit of the Arctic. The warship is one of six Arctic and offshore patrol vessels built under a program worth nearly $5 billion, including design, construction and maintenance costs. “Six is a lot of ships. It’s a lot of money. But this is a vast part of the country many people never even see,” Henwood said. “It’s presence. It’s security. It’s also backing up what you say about these waters. The purpose of these ships is to conduct sovereignty patrols, make sure we know who and what is operating up here and, if necessary, respond to situations that arise.” The Canadian Coast Guard, which is now under the Department of National Defence, is also getting two of its own offshore patrol vessels for the Arctic, with one slated for delivery later this year and the other expected in 2027. Henwood, like most sailors, tends to focus on the mission in front of him. But from the bridge of one of Canada’s newest naval vessels, it is clear the strategic importance of the Arctic has rarely been higher. The Northwest Passage has been the subject of a sovereignty dispute for decades. Canada maintains the waters are internal and under Canadian control. The United States views the passage as an international waterway through which ships can transit without seeking permission. For years, the two countries have managed the disagreement through an arrangement under which U.S. vessels seek Canada’s consent before transiting the passage. With tensions in the Canada-U.S. relationship running hot enough to melt ice, some observers are questioning how durable that understanding is. Henwood said those questions are for governments to answer. For him, the mission is about contributing to a growing Canadian presence in the Arctic at a time when public awareness of northern security issues appears to be increasing. “I’ve been in the navy for 26 years, and the public seems more aware of the threats facing Canada right now,” he said. “That includes the Arctic, but also the broader international environment.” CTV News Ottawa Bureau Chief Graham Richardson is reporting from the Arctic this week while embedded with the Canadian Coast Guard, as Canada looks to assert its presence in the north.
