Martin Drews was appointed Interim Vice President and General Manager of Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, effective May 2026. He retired from the Royal Canadian Navy with the rank of Captain (Navy).
Trained as a Combat Systems Engineering Officer, Martin served on both coasts. Highlights of his career include serving as Commanding Officer of Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton and as Commander of the RCN’s Personnel and Training Group. His other assignments included three years in command of the Canadian Forces Fleet School; Chief of Staff for the River-class Destroyer Project; Technical Officer for the acquisition of the Victoria-class submarines; and Combat Systems Engineer for HMCS Calgary.
While most of his operational deployments were with the Pacific Fleet, he also worked in Engineering Operations for Maritime Forces Atlantic and spent three years with the Canadian Delegation to NATO during the height of the Afghanistan War.
Following 35 years of service to Canada, Martin retired from the Navy in 2021 and worked for General Dynamics, helping to establish the Halifax-class Combat System In-Service Support Contract. He later joined Seaspan Shipyards in 2023, and was appointed Director Submarines in 2024. He assumed his current leadership role in 2026.
Martin is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, as well as master’s degrees in business administration and in Policy and Strategic Studies. He is also a graduate of the Australian Joint Command and Staff Programme.