Ottawa is set to make one Canadian shipbuilding company very happy Wednesday when it announces $35 billion in contracts.
The three contenders are Nova Scotia's Irving-owned Halifax Shipyard, the Seaspan Marine Corp. in British Columbia, and the Davie shipyard of Levis, Que.
First prize is a $25 billion contract for navy combat vessels over the next 20 years. The runner-up will receive $8 billion for federal government civilian ships such as coast guard cutters, and the third will take $2 billion in smaller contracts.
Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose has taken great care to state that the government is keeping the decision arms-length from Ottawa to limit political, as well as legal, repercussions.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay repeated Ambrose's message outside of the House of Commons Tuesday.
"These decisions tomorrow will be made in a way Canadians can be sure it was based on the merit and not on political interference," the Nova Scotian MP said.
The Canadian Press reported a senior bureaucrat, not a Conservative politician, will make the announcement tomorrow.
The economic stakes are high, particular for a small province like Nova Scotia.
Canada's fourth smallest province (by population) has seen disappointing results from its off-shore natural gas industry, and it's not hyperbole to say the shipbuilding deal is seen as an economic saviour.
If Irving wins the largest contract it says there will be a 2.6-per-cent increase in economic growth for Nova Scotia and about 11,500 new jobs for the region.
Premier Darrell Dexter compared it to winning the Olympics every year for the next 30 years.
"I hope it's Halifax!" an excited Megan Leslie, the NDP MP from Halifax, said on CTV's Power Play Tuesday.
"I do think the Irving yard has a strong bid and if politics are left out of it, and we have been assured that they have been . . . then I think Halifax has a really good shot at it. If it's not successful I think there's going to be a lot of questions."
Both British Columbia and Nova Scotia have said they'll pay for training and dock improvements if their province wins.
With files from The Canadian Press
