Canada will boost its military and diplomatic presence in the Arctic to counter what it calls threats from Russia and others seeking a foothold in the far north, as part of a new doctrine unveiled Friday.
The government envisions the deployment of new patrol ships and navy destroyers, ice breakers and submarines capable of operating beneath ice sheets, as well as more aircraft and drones.
Along with the United States it is modernizing continental defences including surveillance of northern approaches with new maritime sensors and satellites.
The foreign policy document notes that Ottawa for years has sought to manage the Arctic cooperatively with other states and keep it free from military competition.
“However, guardrails that prevent conflicts are increasingly under immense strain,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a news conference.
“The Arctic is no longer a low-tension region,” she said, blaming Russian designs on the Arctic and deepening geopolitical rivalries.
The minister said Russia was also teaming up in the far north with China, which is itself seeking greater influence in the governance of the region.
The Arctic is warming on average four times faster than the rest of the world. That is opening up new opportunities for shipping and exploration of resources like oil, gas and minerals.
The growing access is heightening security challenges, Defense Minister Bill Blair warned.
Canada’s revised doctrine, he said, calls for strengthening military capabilities to “conduct and sustain operations in the Arctic” where biting cold and unpredictable storms, long periods of darkness, and drifting sea ice pose severe hazards.
Ottawa will also seek deeper collaboration — including more joint military drills — with allied Nordic nations, of which five are now also NATO members with the recent additions of Finland and Sweden.
The report outlining Canada’s shift highlighted recent increased Russian activity along the edges of North American airspace.
It also called “deeply troubling” Russian weapons testing and deployment of missile systems in the Arctic capable of striking North America and Europe.
Canada accused China of regularly deploying in the north vessels equipped with dual-use military-research capabilities to collect data.
In response, Canada will now apply a national security lens to foreign research in its Arctic region, while Ottawa explores ways to deepen Arctic cooperation with Japan and South Korea, similar to the allies’ Indo-Pacific partnership.
It will also create a new Arctic ambassador post and open consulates in Alaska and Greenland, as it seeks to settle a boundary dispute with the United States in the Beaufort Sea and finalize a deal with Denmark to split Hans Island.
In 2022, Canada and Denmark agreed to effectively create the first land border between Canada and Europe on the tiny, barren, and uninhabited outcrop in the Arctic.
