A new ‘cold’ war? Canada looks to bolster Arctic security, sovereignty

Canada’s military and intelligence communities are putting a greater emphasis on the challenges of securing Canada’s vast northern regions.

An increasingly aggressive Russia coupled with China’s growing influence have renewed Canada’s focus on Arctic defence and sovereignty — and how to assert control over its remote northern geography.

The focus is on both increased surveillance — knowing what and who is poking around up there — and having military assets in place to deter any aggressor before they consider operating in Canada’s North.

The conversation is being driven by the climate crisis, opening up new areas of the Arctic for resource extraction and shipping lanes, and has expanded beyond Canada, asserting its sovereignty to both defence and national security concerns.

But despite melting ice and opening shipping lanes, Canada’s North remains a difficult place to operate in, which is why ensuring adversaries think twice before operating in the region is preferable to having to defend it, according to retired Maj.-Gen. Denis Thompson.

“Clearly deterrence is preferable to having to go up and defend it. And that means having credible assets at hand, not necessarily based in the Arctic, but able to operate out of the Arctic,” said Thompson in an interview with Global News.

“That can include aircraft, it can include ships, obviously, submarines and a limited army capability since the Rangers are already in place. I think the big thing from a military perspective is we need to know what’s up there and that speaks to this concept of surveillance from the seabed to space all across our country, including importantly in the Arctic.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s inaugural budget last month included a $1 billion, four-year fund to improve “dual-use” infrastructure projects for both civilians and the military, such as airports, seaports and all-season roads.

But aside from military preparedness and infrastructure, the discussion around Arctic intelligence — and counter-espionage — has become more prominent in recent years.