Politicians talk about Arctic sovereignty. But as a northern voter, I feel abandoned by Ottawa

This First Person article is the experience of Damien Haogak, who lives in Yellowknife. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. 

After four years of university in Edmonton, I moved back to Yellowknife in 2023 with my partner. The pandemic meant I didn't have many opportunities to return home, and I was happy to be back North, even if it meant a higher cost of living. This is where my heart is.

Wildfires were nothing new to me. In 2017, a wildfire threatened my community of Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., and my family and I were almost evacuated with everyone else.

But something about this season seemed different. At the time I returned home, Yellowknife was taking in wildfire evacuees from nearby N.W.T. communities, such as Hay River, Rae and Edzo. 

And then, the fire approached the capital. 

Thankfully, the N.W.T. government had kept tabs on wildfire threats and ensured that we were prepared for the moment. By 7 p.m. after the evacuation order was issued, the highway was congested with evacuees. My mother, along with both my sisters pulled up in her truck, alongside me and my partner, and we were soon making our way to the highway.

I will never forget driving through the night, smoke filling our vehicle and lungs as the road disappeared into the fog, the light of fire and embers illuminating the threat near us. Two years later, I still cannot think back to that time without the smell of smoke filling my nostrils.

We spent a month in Edmonton while firefighters fought the flames back home. Other communities within the N.W.T. faced similar threats of fire and smoke. My extended family, who were living in other communities in the Sahtu and Beaufort Delta regions in the N.W.T., also faced the same threats of fire and smoke. That entire month was spent worrying about the fate of my territory, and the community I grew up in were facing the effects of climate change.

That wildfire season and the near loss of many communities awakened a passion for politics in me. It showed me how various levels of government interact during a crisis, and the responsibilities of each level. Most importantly, it showed me that my territorial government and my city government cannot respond to these crises by themselves. 

I often feel like the federal government has an important role to play in the North, but we are often forgotten. 

Wildfire threats will continue, and Ottawa has no plans for a national wildfire-fighting force, even as experts warn it's badly needed. Some damage from the 2023 wildfires, like the CN rail to Hay River, is still not fixed.

When Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre visited Nunavut in February, he promised investments in northern security and a permanent military base in the Arctic. Mark Carney, during his bid for the Liberal leadership, mentioned the impacts of wildfires near his birthplace of Fort Smith, N.W.T., during his interview on The Daily Show. All the major federal parties have plans for investing in the military in the Arctic.

Being born and raised here in the N.W.T, this rejuvenation of interest in the North has put me in a cautiously hopeful mood — even if it took an election year to receive this kind of federal attention. 

But military spending is just one aspect of defending our Arctic sovereignty. If we want to solidify Canada's claim as an Arctic nation, the federal government needs to invest in the people who live in those communities. That's how you show the world that you care about that land — because you have schools, homes, highways, etc.