Canada’s Arctic policy draws on international collaboration to face emerging threats

OTTAWA — Canada has unveiled an Arctic foreign policy that commits to increasing domestic and international collaboration to combat emerging foreign threats in the North.

The policy, released by Global Affairs Canada on Friday in Ottawa, says the North American Arctic is “no longer free from tension” because of increased geopolitical instability following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has “shaken the foundations of international co-operation in the Arctic.”

While the policy doesn’t commit to any new defence spending, it is aimed at helping Canada work more closely with its allies.

“Canada is an Arctic nation, and we are at a critical moment. We live in a tough world, and we need to be tougher in our response,” Foreign Affairs Minister Joly said at a press conference on Friday.

“I don’t think the Arctic will be the primary theatre of conflict. I see the Arctic as the result of what is happening elsewhere in the world.”

A key part of the plan is to revive the role of Canada’s Arctic ambassador, which was ended in 2006 under the government of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, and commits to opening consulates in Nuuk, Greenland, and Anchorage, Alaska.

It also outlines commitments to share information with territorial and Indigenous leaders on foreign interference threats and to initiate Arctic-specific dialogue with NATO allies, though such measures are already happening.

The policy commits $34.7 million, with another $7 million ongoing. Much of it is to fund the renewed ambassador role and both consulates.

The urgency for allied co-operation comes after Russia and China conducted joint military exercises in the Arctic in July, building on a 2022 commitment to co-operate with each other on the North.

Joly said Russia is increasingly dependent on China because of the war in Ukraine, and the partnership — in which Joly said Russia was the junior partner — fulfils a Chinese ambition of declaring itself a near-Arctic state.

“While the region’s remote location and challenging terrain has kept it protected for many generations, that reality is rapidly changing,” Defence Minister Bill Blair said.

“This changing environment has created new threats and vulnerabilities, which do necessitate an urgent response to assert Canada’s sovereignty.”

But complicating matters for Canada is balancing its priorities for Arctic sovereignty while collaborating with like-minded states on climate change.

China, for instance, sends research vessels to the Arctic. But Canada says some of China’s forays into the region have been what it calls “dual-use” in having both research and military application.

As such, the policy also lays out a commitment to approach foreign research in Canada’s Arctic through a national security lens, and having more scrutiny on those research projects.

“Climate change is progressing at an alarming pace, with the Arctic warming four times faster than the global average, causing significant impacts on natural and human environments,” the policy reads.

“These impacts serve as threat multipliers because changing environmental conditions create additional opportunities for foreign adversaries and competitors to covertly or overtly operate in the Canadian Arctic.”

Canada lays claim to the Northwest Passage, for instance, but the claim is disputed by even its closest ally. The Americans claim it’s an international passageway, but have a 36-year-old agreement to notify Canada whenever sending vessels though it.

Still, other countries see it as a commercial shipping opportunity, Canada says, notably China for its so-called “Polar Silk Road.”

The Arctic foreign policy also commits Canada to resolving such boundary disputes, partly by working with Indigenous people for the stewardship over traditional waters.

“The interests in the Arctic are changing,” said Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, who said the national organization was pleased with the final policy.

“There is a global interest in the Arctic, and an ambassador can help all other nation-states, especially, understand the way in which Canada asserts its sovereignty, its relationship with Inuit, and other Indigenous Peoples who live in the Arctic.”

At a technical briefing ahead of the policy launch, a senior government official said the Arctic ambassador role will help deepen engagement on Arctic policy with like-minded countries, and work closely with territorial governments and Indigenous people to being their priorities to the international stage.

Joly said the ambassador will be an Indigenous person from the North, and will have an office in the North. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon was Canada’s first Arctic ambassador when the position was first established in 1994.

“That person would come to Ottawa and be in contact with diplomats here. But we need that person to be close to the communities in the North,” Joly said, adding hiring Indigenous northerners at Global Affairs Canada is a departmental priority.

Jack Anawak was Canada’s last Arctic ambassador. At the time, he represented Canada’s interests at circumpolar meetings and co-ordinated Canada’s participation at the Arctic Council.

“This was a very co-operative organization because whatever you discuss at that meeting, you would take back to your government to advise the government on what the council is trying to do,” Anawak told The Canadian Press.

“I would imagine that this ambassador role will play a very pivotal role in keeping the relations between Arctic states relevant and positive,” Obed said, on how the role might look 18 years after it was ended.

“We’re quite pleased with Canada’s reconstitution, if you will, of the Arctic ambassador position, and also the willingness to co-develop that particular position with Inuit.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press