Defending the Arctic is good policy, good politics and good business

As Canada and its allies look to bolster their military and infrastructure, funding should be pointed north as evolving threats seek to infringe on Canada’s sovereignty. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

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By Gary Mar and Mark A.G. Norman 

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Established and new threats to Canada’s sovereignty have spurred questions about defence spending to the top of Canadian minds and headlines this year. That focus on a stronger Canada recently culminated in Prime Minister Mark Carney committing to the new NATO defence spending target of five per cent of GDP by 2035. As the country and its allies look to bolster their military and infrastructure, funding should be pointed north as evolving threats seek to infringe on Canada’s sovereignty.

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While the rhetoric coming from President Trump regarding Canada as a 51st state has cooled in recent months, the policies of the U.S. administration remain a concern following the federal election. Although campaign platforms largely focused on American politics and its influence on Canadian sovereignty, it would be foolish to ignore the role of other geopolitical forces currently at play, which are probably more significant in terms of our overall security. These external threats manifest themselves in Canada’s Arctic, particularly given its proximity to Greenland (in the east) and Russia (to the west and north over the Pole).

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In short, Canadian sovereignty can’t be maintained without a commitment to Arctic defence.

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The 2022 invasion of Ukraine emphasized the fierce Russian political resolve to secure its economic independence from the West as it re-established itself on the world stage. These political events have been furthered by the “partnerships” advanced by Russian President Vladimir Putin with China and North Korea. Russia has also implemented development policies that embrace the economic significance of its offshore polar region and there is every indication it is prepared to assert and defend its ownership of these resources. It has accelerated its efforts to re-open abandoned former Soviet military, air and radar bases throughout Siberian Arctic lands and islands while also building new operational bases.

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With the potential for increased maritime access to northern latitudes resulting from a warming Arctic, Canada’s Northwest Passage and most particularly Russia’s Northern Sea Route will continue to attract global commercial and strategic military attention.

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The compelling realities of an accelerating Russian (and Chinese) presence and capability in the Arctic should occasion a serious re-evaluation and reinvigoration of Arctic defence postures among Western circumpolar allies. The strategic importance of Russia’s expanding Arctic military capabilities cannot be ignored and clearly have become a matter of growing significance to Canada and its northern NATO allies.

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Defence spending has never been an easy sell to Canadians, as it has often been viewed as an appeasement of our NATO allies. But with current threats and the Trump administration’s clear intention of holding all NATO allies to account for their share of collective defence, it is clear that Canada’s national defence spending can no longer be a nice-to-have afterthought.

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With Arctic sovereignty under threat, defence spending in the Arctic as an investment in infrastructure including roads, airfields, ports and communications, must be part of any discussion surrounding a reinvigorated funding commitment.