British ColumbiaThe pacific division of Canadian Armed Forces is running military exercises around Vancouver Island from June 16 to 29, with participation from the United States and Mexico. Warships, aircraft and a submarine will be operating off the south Island and west of Tofino.American and Mexican ships will join Canadian Armed Forces in joint exercise June 16 to 29 CBC News · Posted: Jun 16, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoA Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone flies around HMCS Halifax in 2021. Similar craft will be spotted around Vancouver Island as the Canadian Armed Forces conduct joint exercises June 16 to 29. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)More than 1,000 armed forces members will be conducting military exercises off Vancouver Island over the next few weeks, using warships, aircraft, and a submarine. The joint exercise, called Trident Fury, is being led by the Pacific fleet of the Canadian Armed Forces, with participation from both the United States and Mexico. Navy Capt. Sam Patchell, deputy fleet commander of Canadian Forces Fleet Pacific, told CBC News it’s about preparing for worst-case scenarios. While he couldn’t give a specific example, he said they plan by taking scenarios from the real world: for instance, the increased use of drones in conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war. A Royal Canadian navy CH-148 Cyclone helicopter deploys flares in a training exercise in November 2022. Cyclones are one of the types of military aircraft that will be part of “Exercise Trident Fury.” (Royal Canadian Navy/Twitter)”The use of uncrewed systems [drones] is really an emerging threat, and one we need to prepare ourselves for,” Patchell said. Trident Fury is an exercise they’ve already done before, but he said there is a shift now to both practicing using drones and defending against them. Planning has been underway for over a year and, Patchell said, even as U.S. President Donald Trump began referring to Canada as the 51st state, there was no change in the discussions with allies.”The United States has always been invited, and we’re quite excited that they’re sending one of their destroyers…as well as one of the Coast Guard cutters,” Patchell said.A U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer seen during joint operations in the Arctic Ocean in 2020. A similar ship will be off Vancouver Island in June 2025. (U.S. Navy/Royal Navy Photographer Dan Rosenbaum/Handout via REUTERS)While locals may see more military craft, he said they don’t need to worry about getting in the way of military manoeuvres — which will happen further offshore. Military craft will mostly be spotted off Cattle Point and Clover Point, in Oak Bay and Victoria respectively, as well as on the horizon west of Tofino. The exercises will run between June 16 and June 29, though vessels began arriving in the area on June 13.
Don’t be alarmed if you see warships off Vancouver Island, says Canadian navy
