David Dunlop, 15 September 2020. I just came across a Royal Navy article on the High Arctic and the RN's involvement leading a multinational exercise across the Bering Straits recently. This may be of great interest to CNR and its readers. My question is, why was Canada not involved in […]
Arctic
11 posts
Canadians often define themselves as northern people, and think of the North as an integral part of the country. That attitude may be summed up, for example, by the famous lines of the song by Gilles Vigneault, “Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver” (“My country is not […]
At the onset of the Cold War, it became clear that the Arctic was of strategic significance. So, for a brief period, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) established a presence there. But this presence was sporadic and largely abandoned with the transfer of HMCS Labrador - the navy’s only icebreaker […]
We're very pleased to announce that one of the members of the CNR Editorial Board has just had a book published. China’s Arctic Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada is one of the first in-depth studies of China’s increasing interest in the circumpolar North. It offers a holistic approach […]
2 March 2017. This thought-provoking article should be a 'must read' for politicians and military leaders. It conclusion, 'It would be wise for Canada to follow a balanced policy: to build capacity in the Arctic that would allow it to employ the right combination of soft and hard power, and […]
Once deemed impossible now a reality, this cruise raises questions on the implications on Canadian sovereignty and also the implications for environmental protection. But that is not all. Many other related questions need to be addressed, such as: (1) Is this latest version of Arctic adventure travel really a safe […]
As Yogi used to say, 'Deja vu all over again!' As in the late 1980s, the strategic importance of the Arctic rises to near the top of our national concerns. By far the greatest part of that concern should be for accident prevention in those waters closely followed by rescue […]
From Defense News, a Flipboard magazine by Kyle Scott As a large cruise ship gets ready to sail the Northwest Passage this summer, there are safety concerns about how prepared the Canadian Coast Guard would be should something go wrong.
There appear to be few internationally contentious issues that Canada faces regarding its claims of sovereignty over its arctic landmasses, including its archipelago, aside from a minor challenge concerning Hans Island. The situation in the Arctic Ocean and its adjoining waters is less clear. While several minor maritime boundary challenges […]
If we keep on dithering with Arctic Ocean policy, it will be the 'Arctic Desert' before the academics, politicians, military and bureaucrats get anything done - and by then it will be too late to do anything. Clearly we need to establish our footprint on, over and under the Canadian […]