Foreign Affairs and International Development

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development met on October 2, 2025, to study Canada’s Arctic strategy, hearing from Herb Nakimayak, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada); Sheena Kennedy, Executive Director of Oceans North; P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Professor and Canada Research Chair at Trent University; and Christian Leuprecht, Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University.

Herb Nakimayak emphasized that Canada’s Arctic sovereignty depends on Inuit use and occupancy, and that the 2024 Arctic foreign policy must be implemented with regular engagement through the Inuit-Crown partnership committee and regional treaty organizations. He called for investment in dual-use infrastructure, such as ports and airports, that serves both civilian and military purposes, and urged Canada to maintain multilateral diplomacy through the Arctic Council and other fora, noting that ICC Canada will assume the ICC chairship next summer, overlapping with Canada’s next Arctic Council chairship.

Sheena Kennedy stressed that diplomacy is Canada’s first line of defence in the Arctic and recommended building on the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement to address emerging industrial activities like transpolar shipping and deep-sea mining. She called for expediting the establishment of an Arctic consulate in Nuuk, strengthening bilateral agreements with Greenland and Denmark, and investing in Coast Guard and Canadian Rangers programs to enhance domain awareness, noting that environmental protection is integral to security.

P. Whitney Lackenbauer argued that Arctic exceptionalism is outdated and that Canada must treat Russia as an adversary and China as a competitor, while leaving space for pragmatic diplomacy on issues like climate change. He disagreed with Kennedy on Arctic exceptionalism, and recommended investing in societal resilience and critical infrastructure, asserting that Canada’s sovereignty is strong and that the country should project confidence rather than focus on deficits, while also leveraging tools like the Investment Canada Act to control critical mineral supply chains.

Christian Leuprecht warned that Canada lacks a national security strategy, leading to incoherent policy, and that the Arctic is now a zone of adversarial competition where Canada must regain the initiative. He recommended drawing closer to European allies to counterbalance U.S. unilateralism, investing in rapid infrastructure and defence capabilities, and integrating universities and high-tech industries with national security, noting that Canada’s regulatory environment makes it difficult for allies to do business.

The committee also heard from members, with questions focusing on threats from Russia and China, the role of the Canadian Rangers, critical minerals, and the impact of U.S. policy shifts. No procedural debate, motions, or votes occurred during this meeting.