Nowrth section

Analysis

Longer-form examination of how northern policy files fit together, and what the public record does and does not settle.

An alliance without a name: What Canada's flirtation with EU associate membership could mean for the North

Reporting suggests Ottawa is scoping out arrangements with Brussels short of full membership. The details are developing, but the defence and Arctic dimensions are already on the record.

By Nowrth Staff·September 14, 2026·8 min read

Analysis

Dual-use by design: Critical minerals corridors and the Arctic sovereignty rationale

A cluster of proposed road, port, and power projects in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are being justified simultaneously as economic, defence, and sovereignty infrastructure.

By Nowrth Staff·August 23, 2026·5 min read

Daily briefing

The Northern playbook

Five developments worth your attention.

Law of the seaCanadian waters: The Northwest Passage and the work of holding it
Canada holds the waters of the Arctic Archipelago as internal waters, and keeps that position intact through the 1988 Arctic Cooperation Agreement while the United States and the EU see the passage differently.
Continental defenceBuilding presence: Canada's Arctic defence investments and the infrastructure gap
NORAD modernization is a 20-year, $38.6-billion program announced in 2022, with its main surveillance capabilities scheduled well into the 2030s.
ImplementationTwo Paths to Self-Determination: Public Government and Indigenous Self-Government in the North
A new ten-year Implementation Contract under the Nunavut Agreement was signed in March 2025, thirty-two years after the original land claim.
Food systemsThe cost of distance: Food security policy in Canada's North
Recent survey data put food insecurity at roughly 76 per cent in Nunavut, against sustained growth in Nutrition North subsidy spending since 2011.
To 2030A framework without a deadline: Assessing Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework
The Arctic and Northern Policy Framework reports through an annual Leadership Committee, without a legislated compliance mechanism for its 2030 goals.