Canada will open consulates in Alaska and Greenland, appoint an Arctic ambassador, and continue border negotiations with the United States over the Beaufort Sea.
These commitments and more are detailed in a new federal document released Friday morning on Canada’s Arctic foreign policy.
The federal government announced the policy in Ottawa along with northern premiers and Indigenous organizations.
It follows Canada’s Arctic Policy Framework, released in 2019, which outlines how the federal government plans to make a “significant change of direction” in its relationship with the North.
The new policy provides funding for Global Affairs Canada for the next five years.
Apart from the ambassador and new consulate general, the policy also commits Canada to begin Arctic security consultations with the foreign ministers of other northern countries and to help coordinate science and research in the Arctic.
The policy document also commits to boundary negotiations with the United States over the Beaufort Sea and completes implementation of the boundary agreement between Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark over Hans Island (Tartupark).
The 37-page policy document also warns of Russian actions in the Arctic, including modernizing Arctic infrastructure and military capabilities.
It highlights that the Canadian military garrison at Alert on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, is closer to the Russian military air base at Nagurskoye, Russia, than Iqaluit to Ottawa or Toronto to Winnipeg.
In April, the federal government announced funding for Arctic defense, but there were few details about how the money would be used for infrastructure.
This will continue in the future.
