Canada will appoint a new Arctic ambassador and open two new consulates in the region

Canada will appoint a new Arctic Ambassador and open two new consulates in the region to help deal with what it calls changing geopolitical dynamics in the Arctic, as part of its newly launched Arctic Foreign Policy.

Canada will appoint a new Arctic Ambassador and open two new consulates in the region to help deal with what it calls changing geopolitical dynamics in the Arctic, as part of its newly launched Arctic Foreign Policy.

“Canada is at an inflection point in the Arctic,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, who launched the new policy alongside National Defence Minister Bill Blair, and Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, in Ottawa Friday morning.

In launching the new policy, Global Affairs Canada points to the war between Russia and Ukraine, climate change, and growing strategic interest, and competition from non-Arctic states as key factors that have changed the landscape.

“For many years, Canada has aimed to manage the Arctic and northern regions cooperatively with other states as a zone of low tension that is free from military competition,” said Joly.

“However, the guardrails that we have depended on to prevent and resolve conflict have weakened.”

The Arctic Foreign Policy provides five years of funding with an upfront investment of $34.7M, and $7M ongoing.

Among a list of key initiatives in the policy, Canada will appoint an Arctic Ambassador, and open new consulates in Anchorage, Alaska, and in Nuuk, Greenland.