How many ships do Britain and Canada need?

How many ships do the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy need?

First define the missions and regions to cover; the fleet total then follows from policy, readiness, and deployment assumptions.

A single carrier group demands one force structure; continuous regional presence demands many more hulls and maintenance depth. Fleet requirements can be worked backward from regions, readiness cycles, carrier groups, strategic anti-submarine duties, and the desired frequency of visible visits. A very active British policy could justify 48 escorts, though that number is conditional rather than universal. Procurement must follow explicit political commitments because assigning missions without buying the required hulls merely consumes ships faster in peacetime.