Mayor puts out ‘a feeler’ on HMCS Brandon

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This article was published 13/08/2025 (225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Royal Canadian Navy has received an enquiry from Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett, asking about the ship HMCS Brandon, which is about to be decommissioned on Canada’s West Coast.

A public affairs officer with the navy confirmed with the Sun Wednesday afternoon that Fawcett’s email was received and the request is now in the hands of the navy and a government department in charge of equipment and material.

“In the case of who is specifically looking at this question in particular, it’s not just the Royal Canadian Navy,” said Lt. Alex Roy of the Royal Canadian Navy.

“There are other government departments as well, and right now they’re looking at this collaboratively to figure out what the plan is, with each of the vessels once they’re divested,” Roy said.

“They’ll be making that decision in the coming weeks.”

The Wheat City has had two ships named in its honour since 1941. The newest vessel was commissioned in 1999, but it and eight other ships will be taken out of service at the end of September.

The decommissioning of the ship came on the city’s radar in the wake of a column written by the Sun’s Deveryn Ross.

Fawcett said his enquiry to Defence Minister David McGuinty was purely preliminary, only meant as a fact-finding mission.

“We’re just putting a feeler out there,” Fawcett said. “Is there a discussion to be had? And if there is, then you start saying how realistic this is and then you go from there.”

In his email to McGuinty, Fawcett included three other politicians — Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Grant Jackson; Brandon East NDP MLA Glen Simard, who’s the provincial minister of Municipal and Northern Relations; and Brandon West Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Balcaen.

“Let’s face facts: this is a big deal having the ship named HMCS Brandon, and we’ve always taken pride in it,” Fawcett said.

“But this is all very preliminary. We could have a discussion with zero realistic expectations, but let’s at least have a discussion.”

HMCS Brandon is docked at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in British Columbia. She is crewed by naval reservists and in the past has been the site of junior naval officer training and assisted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Customs Canada in carrying out their duties.

Sometime before the end of September, an official ceremony will take place where HMCS Brandon and two other ships will be divested, which means they will no longer be His Majesty’s Canadian Ships, Roy told the Sun.

“Once that ceremony happens, it transitions over to the other department,” Roy said, adding, “it’s in the best interest to make those decisions with both parties at the table before one relinquishes it to the other.”

Ross’s column in the Sun caught the eye of retired navy lieutenant George Haggerty, who said the ship would be a great tourist attraction and is a project that is worth exploring.

“Maybe it’s not affordable,” Haggerty said. “There are a lot of unknowns, but if you don’t check into it, you’ll never know. We would hate to miss the boat on this.”

Haggerty pointed out that the ships HMCS Yellowknife and HMCS Nanaimo were returned to their cities.

“We want the ship,” Haggerty said. “But if they won’t allow us to take ownership of the ship, because we can’t do it or afford it, can we at least get the ship’s bell? That could go to city hall.”

It’s not yet known the exact date of the September ceremony when HMCS Brandon will be divested, Roy said, but a decision about its future is expected to be made before then.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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