Emergent Arctic, Divergent Approaches: The impact of federal organizations on Canada's pursuit of sovereignty over its Arctic waters

Climate change has reduced the width and breadth of sea ice in the waters of the Canadian Arctic, rendering the region more accessible to southern interests, particularly shipping, than at any time in its history. The realities of an emergent Arctic have rekindled old fears regarding the nature and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Adair, Geoffrey
Other Authors: Huebert, Rob
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: Graduate Studies 2012
Subjects:
Political Science
Arctic Sovereignty
Institutional Theory
International Law
Arctic
Canada
Arctic Archipelago
Climate change
Sea ice
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11023/207
https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/25876
Description
Summary:Climate change has reduced the width and breadth of sea ice in the waters of the Canadian Arctic, rendering the region more accessible to southern interests, particularly shipping, than at any time in its history. The realities of an emergent Arctic have rekindled old fears regarding the nature and extent of Canadian sovereignty over the waters of its Arctic Archipelago. These fears are related to the historically and legally contested nature of Canadian claims. While the Canadian government is asserting its sovereignty in the Arctic region, the federal organizations that are the instruments of sovereignty assertion are both impacting the manner in which Canada’s Arctic foreign policy is conducted and affecting Canada’s sovereignty claims. This paper investigates said organizational effects through interviews conducted with high ranking members, current and retired, of the Royal Canadian Navy, The Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

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