Northern and Arctic Security and Sovereignty: Challenges and Opportunities for a Northern Corridor

• Main Authors: P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Katharina Koch
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Calgary 2021
• Subjects: Political institutions and public administration (General); JF20-2112; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Canada; Northwest Passage; Climate change; Northwest passage
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v14i1.72084; https://doaj.org/article/f47be1c97178451a9e69d6436c82d8e1

Key Messages • Key issues related to Canada’s security and defence agenda, which involve critical and essential infrastructure development, must be considered in the development and implementation of a Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC). • Canada’s northern and Arctic security and defence agenda is related to several key policy domains that are relevant from a CNC perspective. These include infrastructure development, climate change, Indigenous sovereignty and natural resource development. • A CNC will gain international attention and be internationally recognized as a strategy for Canada to assert its sovereignty over its Arctic territory, including the internationally disputed Northwest Passage. • The CNC advocates for the inclusion and participation of Indigenous communities. Thus, Indigenous Peoples will also carry a significant role in the monitoring and surveillance of accessibility within and to the North, improved through enhanced infrastructure development. • Canada’s investments in Arctic defence infrastructure are modest compared to those of its Russian and American neighbours. A CNC, potentially adding strategically important infrastructure in the Canadian North, will directly tie into the discourse of Arctic security and power relations. • In addition to natural disasters, the Canadian North is at significant risk of human-made disasters that pose serious prospective challenges for northerners and for federal and territorial governments. The CNC will likely foster the development of surveillance and monitoring assets. • The CNC rights-of-way could trigger security concerns regarding the impact of foreign investment as a security threat, especially if natural resource development is coupled with the development of strategic transportation hubs, such as ports along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. • CNC transportation infrastructure would also become a part of Canada’s defence strategy as it forms a potential key asset in the defence and safeguarding of Canada’s northern and Arctic regions. • Future ...