Canada boosts Arctic defenses, partners with Finland and US to modernize NORAD

At the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Rebecca Chartrand, Canada’s Minister for Northern and Arctic Affairs, said Ottawa is boosting defense readiness and Arctic partnerships amid rising global tensions.

“We’re already moving forward on some of our Nanook operations,[Canadian Armed Forces exercise in the High Arctic-TVP World] inviting other countries to participate with us in military readiness,” Chartrand told TVP World Talks.

Canada, she said, has signed a strategic security partnership with Finland to build icebreakers and is modernizing NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) together with the United States to improve early warning and defense systems.

Chartrand confirmed Canada is “asserting itself in the North and the Arctic,” investing in northern security hubs and stepping up military recruitment.

But she emphasized that Arctic policy “must not be created from a southern perspective,” and should include the voices of northern and Indigenous peoples, who serve as “the first line of defense” in the Northwest Passage.

While acknowledging “increased militarization” and “shadow fleets” in Arctic waters, Chartrand said Canada remains committed to working “with like-minded countries that share the same values” through NATO, the ‘Nordic Five’ grouping of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as other partnerships. “We have to understand our vulnerabilities,” she said, “but also our opportunities.”

Watch the interview on TVP World’s YouTube channel./TVP Word/