Canada's Arctic Sovereignty Claims
Northern Resources Draw Interest of Circumpolar Nations
Aug 17, 2009
There’s a Russian flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole. The flag is made of titanium and sits more than four kilometres below the ice-covered surface. It was put there in August 2007 by Russian sailors in a submersible vehicle and is a symbolic claim to ownership of the seabed at the top of the world.
Hang on. The North Pole? Surely, that’s Canadian, or at least that’s the claim made in Ottawa. Then Foreign Affairs Minister Peter McKay was not impressed by the Russian stunt: “This isn’t the 15th century,” he told CTV News. “You can’t go around the world and just plant flags and say ‘We’re claiming this territory.”
Canada has Ignored its North
Two Canadian historians make the point that Canada's claim is a bit shaky. Kenneth Coates at the University of Waterloo and William Morrison at the University of Northern British Columbia have written about this in “Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North.” For them Canada and Canadians have “ignored this region for generations.”
In their 2008 book, the historians write that Canada has failed to make the most of the North’s human and economic resources. The only time Ottawa pays any attention to the region is when some other nation comes sniffing around looking for resources.
Scramble for Arctic Resources
The Russian flag planting was a statement of claim to the resources believed to lie beneath the Arctic sea ice.
Christoph Seidler, the author of “Arctic Monopoly” (June 11, 2009), points out that there are five major contenders for the possible mineral riches of the Far North – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States.
On his website, Mr. Seidler comments that Canada’s northernmost base, Alert on Ellesmere Island, is actually closer to Moscow in Russia than it is to Ottawa. He also notes that the 2006 Census counted only five inhabitants at the base. “It becomes clear,” he writes, “that the Canadian government is going to have to put in some effort if it truly wants to position itself as an Arctic power. In the legal fight over the status of the Northwest Passage, now opening due to the shrinkage of Arctic ice, Canada’s position looks likely to worsen in the long run.”
Boosting Canada’s Arctic Claims
Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper reacted to the claims of Russia and others. There are plans for a deep-water port, several new patrol vessels, an icebreaker, and a military training base. But, even if Canada comes through with its more robust defence of the Arctic, Christoph Seidler still thinks it might be a little too late coming to the party and with an empty beer case.
Much of the current defence of the territory falls on the shoulders of the Canadian Rangers. This is a force of about 1,500 part-time volunteers. They are armed only with Second World War-vintage Lee-Enfield rifles. The prime minister says the Rangers, most of who are Inuit, will be increased in size and equipped with less ancient weapons.
During the summer, National Defence sends a few army patrols into the Arctic to show the flag. In addition, the Navy sends a frigate or two into northern waters during the summer, and the Air Force does fly-overs.
There are 60 RCMP detachments and about 400 officers in the northern territories, and they do have responsibility for securing Canada’s borders. Meanwhile, the Canadian Coast Guard has a small fleet of aging icebreakers that are sent to the Arctic in the summer. And, that’s pretty much it to keep tabs on an area nearly three times the size of France.
Politicians Stake the Arctic Claim
On August 17, 2009, David Akin of the Canwest News Service reported “Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads to the Arctic Monday afternoon where he’ll convene a meeting of the federal cabinet, ride in one of Canada’s submarines, and try to send a message to Russia, the United States, and other Arctic powers that Canada’s aspirations to be a great northern power are not to be taken lightly.”
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