Mark Carney says there are many things the US needs from Canada — and a very special kind of boat is one of them

Canada's icebreaker expertise is playing a role in US efforts to expand its own Arctic fleet.

Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Mark Carney says icebreakers are one of the "many, many, many things" the US needs from Canada.

Canada is spending $8.2 billion on six new icebreakers as it strengthens its presence in the Arctic.

The US is racing to expand its own polar fleet as melting Arctic ice fuels new routes and rivalry.

As trade tensions between the US and Canada boil over, Mark Carney pointed out one area where the two countries' interests are closely intertwined: icebreakers.

On Monday, the Canadian Prime Minister said that cooperation on the specialized vessels was a "reminder of one of the many, many, many things that the United States needs from Canada." Carney was speaking at a news conference in Quebec, where he announced an 11.3 billion Canadian dollar, or $8.2 billion, contract for shipbuilder Chantier Davie to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard.

He also used the occasion to take a jab at the size of the US fleet, which Washington is racing to expand as melting Arctic ice opens new shipping routes and intensifies competition in the region.

"You know, the United States has a handful, and I'm being generous, of icebreakers," Carney said.

The US Coast Guard currently operates three polar icebreakers and has contracts for 11 new Arctic Security Cutters, while working with Canada and Finland to expand icebreaker capacity and expertise.

Davie Defense, which is part of the same industrial group as Canada's Davie Shipbuilding, is contracted to deliver five of the cutters, with two to be built in Finland and three in Texas.

The icebreakers are part of a broader push to strengthen US capabilities in the Arctic, where officials and experts have warned of gaps in surveillance, naval assets, infrastructure, and other tools needed to respond to threats as Russia and China increase their activity in the region.

Carney's remarks on Monday come as relations between Washington and Ottawa have deteriorated sharply over trade.

US-Canada trade negotiations broke down last week, and new 50% US tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian imports took effect on Saturday.

Canada has said it will retaliate dollar-for-dollar beginning September 8.