The Hamilton Spectator, 9 July 2026, Nathan Bawaan
Ontario Shipyards sees a new $11-million grant from the province as “positive news” in the local shipbuilder’s years-long quest to secure vessel manufacturing contracts from the Canadian government.
“This grant money is the first step in actually realizing that (goal),” president and CEO Shaun Padulo said over the phone Thursday. “So we’re incredibly grateful and elated.”
The province announced the grant Wednesday as part of a larger initiative to direct $90 million toward Ontario’s shipbuilding industry, a sector the province views as important to both national security and the local economy. Companies in Port Colborne, Kingston and Parry Sound also received money.
Hamilton-based Ontario Shipyards, which also has shipyards in Niagara and Thunder Bay, was awarded the most funding.
According to Padulo, the $11 million will go toward capital upgrades to the company’s Hamilton harbour facility, where the shipbuilder is currently working on a 40 metre-long training vessel.
That project — which is designed to train new recruits on the water — has been in the works for years as the repairs-focused shipyard hopes to show the federal government it can build new, larger vessels included in Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).
“We have been growing as a company to position ourselves to be able to formally get into the NSS so that we can start building ships for Canada,” Padulo said, adding this training ship will hopefully be “the first of many.”
The project got a boost in February when it became central to an agreement between Ontario Shipyards and South Korean shipbuilding giant, Hanwha Ocean. But that partnership appeared to fizzle earlier this week when Hanwha lost out on a bid to supply a dozen submarines for Ottawa.
“I think that the (provincial) funding is a positive news story with respect to this initiative,” Padulo said, noting work will continue on the training vessel without Hanwha’s support. Designing and procurement is already underway, and the project as a whole is expected to bring around 100 jobs to the city.
Padulo added it’s just a coincidence the province’s announcement came just days after Hanwha signalled an end to its pact with Ontario Shipyards.
“We submitted our application last year sometime,” he said in reference to the grant.
Ontario Shipyards has been eyeing expansion at its Hamilton and St. Catharines facilities for years through government contracts. Much of this has come through submitting unsolicited proposals like building up to 12 navy corvettes in partnership with Algoma Steel and Italian giant Fincantieri.
The current training vessel project is another of these initiatives, with Padulo describing the work as “on speculation,” meaning there is no interested buyer for the final product. The CEO does hope to sell it to the Royal Canadian Navy.
While interest from Ottawa has been lukewarm, the province has previously offered more enthusiastic support to the local shipbuilder.
“Please give Ontario Shipyards a contract,” said Premier Doug Ford back in February in a public pitch aimed at the federal government.
