Wednesday March 11, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The North and the Arctic region of Canada has long awaited it due attention from the federal government.
Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to have capitalized on bringing Arctic issues with in the fold of issues being dealt with by his government.
Notably, the federal attention includes an increased military and defence budget — in particular with addressing protection of Canada on this country’s northern coast and territory.
As a point of emphasis, Carney will be observing the Nordic nations Exercise Cold Response in Norway this coming weekend and participating in the 2026 Canada-Nordic Summit in Oslo.
Carney included Nunavut in his travels even before the April 2025 election, meeting with then Premier of Nunavut PJ Akeeagok and addressing Arctic security.
As the climate changes, melting ice in the Arctic region leads to more access vulnerabilities for Canada’s North.
Nunavut MP:
And today, Carney introduced the newest Liberal MP Lori Idlout (Nunavut) who has crossed the floor from the NDP. “Nunavut and the North are central to Canada’s future,” said Idlout in a Liberal news release last night.
Three NDP MPs (half the caucus) visited with Idlout in Nunavut in January, to hear about the needs of her region.
Since 2008, Nunavut has chosen MPs from all three main parties: Liberal, Conservative and NDP. The voters there tend to vote for the candidate not the party.
Attention to the Arctic at UVic:
Yesterday in Victoria, NDP Interim Leader Don Davies (a Vancouver-based MP) visited with researchers at the University of Victoria to hear about research being done around tidal and wave energy generation that can empower small communities with power generation that currently otherwise depend on diesel fuel that can only be delivered by ship (no roads or rail).
Davies points out that Canada has the second-largest coastline in the world. He also heard about aerospace technologies including drones that could help save fuel costs for the North by shipping small packages in or out (including for medical needs).
Victoria MP Will Greaves is a political science professor at UVic including about Arctic politics and global security. He has co-edited two books: Breaking Through: Understanding Sovereignty and Security in the Circumpolar Arctic and One Arctic: The Arctic Council and Circumpolar Governance.
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NEWS SECTIONS: ARCTIC & the NORTH