Canada's military plans to be in the Arctic 'on a near permanent basis,' says commander

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Canada intends to grow its subject grooming authorities successful the Arctic, deploying a assortment of forces successful the portion for up to 10 months a year, starting this year, the military's operations commandant says. 

Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin says the military's signature Far North workout — Operation Nanook — will spot further elements created, resulting successful a greater, accordant beingness successful a portion that is progressively the absorption of geopolitical rivalry. 

The plan, says 1 defence expert, is an unprecedented accidental for the Liberal authorities to not lone show Canadian sovereignty successful the Arctic, but to rally NATO allies down the country.

Michael Byers, an adept successful the Arctic and geopolitics astatine the University of British Columbia, says large allied nations should beryllium invited successful greater numbers than they person successful the past arsenic a awesome of solidarity astatine a clip erstwhile the Trump medication has said it wants to usage economical unit to annex Canada — and perchance subject unit to swallow Greenland. 

Boivin says inviting allies is portion of the program "when it makes sense" to person them join, but the volition is simply a nationalist nonsubjective to get much Canadian boots connected the ground, warships successful the h2o and planes flying implicit the immense expanse of territory.

"We privation to beryllium successful the Arctic connected a adjacent imperishable basis," Boivin told CBC News successful a caller interview. "The existent attack to Operation Nanook puts america successful the Arctic for 5 to six months a year. We're looking astatine being determination 10 positive months per year."

WATCH | Plan for Arctic subject summation portion of sovereignty push:

Federal authorities increases accent connected Arctic

The Liberal authorities has enactment an accrued accent connected the Arctic, appointing a circumstantial curate successful this week's furniture appointments and dropping an other $420 cardinal into the Department of National Defence fund to make a greater sustained subject beingness successful the Far North.

Boivin said the bid to grow Operation Nanook predates the Liberal government's backing announcement. Military unit was told past September to gully up a revised, expanded docket that volition spot 7 grooming regimes (instead of the accustomed four) conducted nether the yearly exercise.

The archetypal workout nether the expanded grooming program — Operation Nanook-Nunalivut — took spot in February in the vicinity of Inuvik and Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories. It progressive 450 Canadian troops arsenic good arsenic astir 110 equipped forces members from the United States, Belgium, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Byers says the token beingness of allies is important, but successful the existent geopolitical clime it could beryllium leveraged to Canada's vantage adjacent further.

"One could deliberation imaginatively astir however our allies could enactment Canadian sovereignty," said Byers, who added helium could spot Canada extending an invitation to big a larger contingent of Danish troops for an workout that would encompass not lone the Canadian Arctic, but besides Greenland.

"If there's governmental will, there's a batch we tin bash successful the abbreviated word that doesn't impact spending billions and billions of dollars connected caller equipment." 

Inviting larger numbers of European allies to behaviour cold-weather exercises connected Canadian ungraded would beryllium a subtle, but unmistakable awesome to the Trump medication that Canada has allies astatine its back.

Don't unopen U.S. out: Defence expert

But Byers says that doesn't mean the United States should beryllium unopen retired of the Canadian Arctic. 

Rather, helium believes regularly extending invitations to the U.S. subject and seashore defender — and having Washington judge them — would beryllium a shrewd mode of pushing backmost against U.S. President Donald Trump's arguments that question Canada's nationhood.

"By participating, they would beryllium recognizing Canadian leadership, Canadian sovereignty," said Byers.

Like it oregon not, helium says, geography is inactive an important origin successful Canada's narration with its confederate neighbour.  

"The absorbing happening present is that if we invitation them, we're giving consent, and by accepting an invitation they're recognizing that consent and thereby our sovereignty."

Every year, Norway hosts a large multinational subject connected its ungraded and waters, known arsenic Exercise Nordic Response, which tin involve as many as 30,000 NATO troops and personnel.

Canada has agelong resisted holding a NATO level workout successful the country's Far North, but the conception was floated a fewer years agone successful defence circles pursuing erstwhile NATO caput wide Jens Stoltenberg's sojourn to the Canadian Arctic. 

Ed Arnold, a elder probe chap astatine the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says that beyond nuanced ineligible arguments astir sovereignty, a greater amusement of allied information successful Canada's North would beryllium a changeable successful the limb for Canadian and European NATO morale.

WATCH | Looking astatine what's needed to summation Canada's Arctic security:

Silence from allies a concern

Arnold says it's apt not gone unnoticed that galore of Canada's allies person kept their heads down and said small publically astir Trump's annexation threats and 51st State blustering.

"I deliberation from the Canadian constituent of view, and besides the Danish constituent of view, they'd astir apt beryllium beauteous annoyed astir that and beauteous fto down," said Arnold who pointed to the deafening soundlessness from the U.K. government.

"I deliberation the interest is that allies announcement this benignant of behaviour and successful the existent information situation and, you know, maintaining that unity, it is captious that the benignant of much almighty nations successful Europe basal up for the smaller nations." 

He did acknowledge, however, the value of King Charles opening the latest league of the Canadian Parliament with the Speech from the Throne aboriginal this month.

A greater NATO relation successful the Arctic would beryllium noticed successful Washington, Arnold said, but it would besides beryllium "showing the Canadians, from a Euro-Atlantic information perspective, are not isolated."