Small craft harbours are vital infrastructure for coastal and rural communities across Canada. From Atlantic lobster wharves to Pacific fishing ports and Northern marine access points, these harbours connect harvesters to markets, sustain local businesses, and support thousands of middle-class jobs. Canada's commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing sectors support nearly 65,000 jobs - including more than 42,900 commercial fish harvesters - from coast to coast to coast. In 2025, Canada's fish and seafood exports totaled $8.47 billion, underscoring the sector's critical role in Canada's economy and food security.
As part of the Spring Economic Update 2026, the Government of Canada is proposing $957.8 million over five years, starting in 2026-27, for the Small Craft Harbours Program. This historic investment will support the repair, modernization, and climate resilience of core harbour infrastructure and is in addition to DFO's existing annual program budget of approximately $90 million.
Today, in Cap-Lumière, New Brunswick, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Honourable Dominic Leblanc, President of the King's Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy, highlighted this investment from the Spring Economic Update in Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) Small Craft Harbours Program.
The funding will allow DFO to undertake repairs, upgrades and dredging at small craft harbour facilities across Canada. Repairs will be carried out using the latest climate projections, which will result in climate resistant infrastructure that meets the needs of the commercial fishing industry and community.
In Cap-Lumière Harbour, the funding will allow for advanced planning and reconstruction of the marginal wharf (404). Cap-Lumière Harbour is home to approximately 50 commercial harvesters and plays an essential role in the region's lobster fishery, one of the economic drivers of New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula.
As Canada transforms from economic reliance to resilience, investments in harbour infrastructure are helping protect livelihoods, strengthen supply chains, and support coastal communities for generations to come. With this investment, we're helping build Canada strong, for all.
