Canada plans to work more closely with the United States in the Arctic to ensure regional
security in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia, Ottawa said on Friday.
As part of a renewed strategy, Canada will appoint an Arctic ambassador and open new consulates in Anchorage, Alaska and Nuuk, Greenland.
Canada’s Arctic covers more than 4.4 million square km and is almost deserted, save for a few communities and ports. Less than 16% of the waters have been adequately surveyed.
The 37-page strategy document cites Russian aggression, Chinese ambitions in the region as well as the effects of global warming, which could open up shipping channels.
“The North American Arctic is no longer free from tension. Canada must work even closer with its closest ally, the United States, to maintain a secure North American homeland,” it said.
Canada is building eight new icebreakers with plans to increase production of these ships in the US itself. According to the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the US, Canada and Finland had signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation in the production of icebreakers for the Arctic and other Polar regions.
Earlier, Canada had announced plans for a new $6 billion radar system based in the Arctic that will track incoming missiles. Data from the radar would be sent to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
According to a report in the Ottawa Citizen, an English-language daily, The Polar Over The Horizon Radar, will be “Optimised to detect missiles”, but will also track additional aerospace and maritime objects.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week and said they had discussed the Arctic among other topics.
Canada will explore new avenues of cooperation with the United States in areas such as energy security, supply chains, climate change and critical minerals, the document said.
With Reuters inputs
