Canadian Warship HMCS Charlottetown Deploys for 6-month Mission in Indo-Pacific

HMCS Charlottetown set sail from its home port of Halifax this weekend, beginning a six-month deployment to “promote peace and stability” in the Indo-Pacific region, the department of national defence says.

The Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate left port on Feb. 1 with a crew of 240 sailors and aviators to take part in two specific missions, National Defence said in a Feb. 1 press release.

The deployment is part of Operation Neon, a United Nations Security Council initiative to enforce sanctions against North Korea. The goal of the surveillance mission is to prevent illegal maritime activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities banned by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, National Defence said.

But it is also part of Operation Horizon, a Canadian Armed Forces initiative to strengthen cooperation between allies and bolster military presence in a region that is central to global security, the department said. The operation is a bid to strengthen military-to-military cooperation and will see the crew participate in “multilateral exercises.”

“The ship’s company of HMCS Charlottetown has been working hard to prepare for both Operation Horizon and Operation Neon and is proud to represent Canada on the world stage and contribute to a safer, more stable region,” HMCS Charlottetown Commanding Officer Jonathan Maurice said in the press release. “I have the utmost confidence in their ability to display excellence at sea and enhance interoperability with allied navies.”

The Indo-Pacific region extends from the eastern coast of Africa to the western coast of the Americas, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Northeast Asia, and Oceania. It contains five of the world’s largest economies—Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea—and is home to six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners. 

The region is made up of more than 40 countries, accounting for 65 percent of the global population and 50 percent of projected global GDP by 2040, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Maritime Forces Atlantic Commander Rear Admiral Josee Kurtz said the mission is important because the region is key for Canada.

“The Indo-Pacific is rapidly becoming the world’s centre of economic growth and strategic importance and many issues that matters to Canadians, from national security and economic prosperity to human rights and environmental protection, can be shaped by our relationships in this region,” Kurtz said in the press release. “This is why the Royal Canadian Navy deploys warships annually to work alongside our allies and partners in the region.”

Defence officials say the ship’s crew has dedicated months to training for the deployment and is ready to represent Canada internationally during the six-month mission. It noted that the aviators aboard will pilot and provide support for the ship’s CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter.

The HMCS Charlottetown entered service in 1995 and has been in active use ever since. The ship took part in the NATO military exercise Steadfast Defender in 2024, the largest NATO military exercise in 36 years and has been used in everything from anti-terrorism deployments, to intercepting narcotics shipments, to providing humanitarian aid and evacuating Canadian citizens during conflicts in other countries.