A third-party review of the food affordability program for northern and remote communities was due on March 31. Over a month later, Ottawa is still waiting. Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand says she has her own data to guide future action.
In the past, the Senate of Canada had a special committee on the Arctic, which should be reinstated.
The emphasis on infrastructure is central to that shift. Ports, airstrips, and telecommunications are economic assets—and the backbone of our security and legal credibility in the region.
Life in the North teaches resilience, co-operation, and responsibility, which is why closer co-operation between Canada and the Nordic countries feels both natural and timely.
The Canadian Army is looking to buy up to 170 Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement vehicles, but we’ve been down this road before.
A credible Arctic security strategy must be rooted in Akuqtujuuk—the twin stars that rise together and signal hope. For Canada, those stars are sovereignty and Indigenous leadership.
Leading researchers believe 6G technology could be the key to unlocking high-speed cell service in every corner of the country.
Canada is offering ‘a classic, measured’ response, says Senator Peter Boehm, while Senator Andrew Cardozo questions ‘how much longer’ the prime minister can take that approach. If Canada doesn’t take a stand now, ‘can we expect anybody in the world to stand up for us?’
The Canadian government has been relatively silent about the strategy, with ministers only weighing in when asked by reporters.
Our governments are already moving together on the projects that matter most. But we cannot build them alone. The Northwest Territories and our Indigenous partners are ready. Now it’s Ottawa’s turn to match that readiness with firm, long-term commitments.
If federal programming is stripped down, remote communities will be limited in their pathways to achieve energy security.
If these so-called nation-building projects in our own territory cannot even feed children, is it truly nation building?
Tuberculosis rates remain high in Nunavik, despite a 2018 pledge to halve rates by 2025 and eradicate the disease by 2030. NDP MP Lori Idlout says eliminating the disease is ‘solely about political will’ and is urging the feds to fund housing and health care.
Whether it is supporting Ukraine, reinforcing NATO’s northern flank, or building the tools to defend sovereignty in the Arctic, Canada is showing it will lead by example.
While southern Canada debates the purchase of drones and submarines, the North still waits for basic investments in safety, predictability, and connectivity.
In a country of many competing interests and multiple governments, getting them all to co-ordinate their activities to achieve the ambitious goals outlined at the beginning of this piece will be complicated and difficult.
Developing this concept would signal to both allies and adversaries that Canada no longer views its North as peripheral.
If Canada steps up now, we don’t just help individual scientists and express solidarity with them—we reaffirm our values as a country that believes in knowledge, equity, and the future of our shared planet.
