Canadian Ad Hoc Defence of the Arctic in the Early 1920s – Guest Post by Trevor Ford

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Canadian Ad Hoc Defence of the Arctic in the Early 1920s – Guest Post by Trevor Ford

In August of 2013, Canadians become aware that the Canadian military had been secretly building and testing a stealth snowmobile in the Canadian Arctic. Named Loki, after the mythological shape-shifting Norse god, the snowmobile has been in testing for some time with over $620,000 spent on its development to date. This has led many critics to question what they believe is an exorbitant cost.  However, government officials have pointed out that the research was part of a larger plan to increase Canada’s military presence in the Arctic, which includes the placement of ships, troops, and armed bases throughout Canada’s North.

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The Legacy of Military Training in the Canadian Arctic

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The Legacy of Military Training in the Canadian Arctic

Today the likelihood of Canada being attacked by either land, sea or air seems remote. Our territory and sovereignty are not only protected by our own resources but those of our allies as well. Yet the increasing globalization of our world continues to create pressures that will eventually boil over. With this in mind Clio’s Current has previously discussed the Canadian Arctic. We have focused on the importance (or lack thereof) to assertions of territorial sovereignty made by past and present Canadian governments, but we have yet to examine in any depth the possibility of Canada’s north coming under attack. Although such an idea may seem farfetched, it’s important to reflect on a time when the Canadian Arctic was vulnerable and concerns for many were high in our country

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A Brief History of Arctic Research in Modern Canada

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The 2014 Fall Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development was released this week by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. According to the report, which was produced by Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand, Canada’s Arctic navigational aids and icebreaking services are both antiquated and inadequate. She warned specifically against the use of outdated maps and surveys, which insufficiently protect Canadian interests in a region with a seemingly constant changing geography. At a time when receding glacial ice and increased marine traffic have many people the world over eagerly following Arctic headlines, this most recent news provides further ammunition to Conservative critics in Canada who take issue with the northern territorial sovereignty focus of Stephen Harper’s government. Canada’s Conservative party has long claimed the Arctic to be a political and economic priority, and it’s easy to see their point when considering the potential for resource exploitation that may stem from rapid environmental change in the region. But Gelfand’s audit suggests the government is severely unprepared to maintain and grow its own Arctic activity, let alone protect any territorial sovereignty claims. In today’s post we take a brief look at Canada’s modern cartographic interests in the Arctic, in attempt to contextualize the concerns raised by Gelfand.

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Fifteen Years of Nunavut: A Look at Canada's History with the Inuit

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Tuesday marked the fifteenth anniversary of the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, and the largest land claim in Canadian history. At least, by territory – there are some 33,000 people spread over 2 million square kilometres in Nunavut. On April 1, 1999, the federal government finished a decades long process over the recognition of Inuit peoples as an indigenous group by the Canadian government. Nunavut was split off from the Northwest Territories as the Canadian government as a negotiation over land ownership. Part of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement that gave Inuit the ability to govern themselves was that they also had to “cede,release and surrender ... all their aboriginal claims, rights, title and interests.” This post looks at part of the process that gave them those rights.

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The Hunt for the Mad Trapper of Rat River

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As the world's eye turns to the waters of the Indian Ocean in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, speculations abound about its fate – perhaps too many some say. The massive air search for any sign of debris is reportedly the largest in history, though we don't have any facts to confirm that claim. It brings to mind another search by air that happened eighty years ago – the first in Canadian history. The manhunt for the Mad Trapper of Rat River spanned hundreds of kilometres and used searches by plan and radio communication. It is relatively well known among the public and historians alike as one of Canada's great mysteries. We still don't know the true identity of Albert Johnson and what went through his head during the month-long manhunt through the Canadian arctic that resulted in his death.

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Contesting Arctic Sovereignty: A Brief History of “Canadian” Interest in the North

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The Arctic continues to be a topic of heated discussion in Canada. Political, cultural, and environmental concerns have sparked research and scholarship into regions and peoples that have long escaped the public eye. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made Arctic sovereignty a top priority during his current eight-year tenure. He is amongst those who have suggested that real threats toward Canada’s circumpolar autonomy exist, and he seems determined to protect Canadian interests in a northern world that is undergoing significant and rapid change. Yet Harper’s Arctic diplomacy is highly questionable, both from historical and contemporary perspectives. To insinuate that the Arctic is Canadian territory, which Harper has done on a number of occasions, assumes that the massive northern region is holistically the property of a governmental body that has historically been at odds with much of that regions native population. Since Euro-Canadians are not indigenous to the Arctic territories which Harper has proclaimed their own, can his Conservative government actually claim some measure of ownership and stewardship over contested northern territory?

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