Arctic Sovereignty Initiatives in the Canadian North: A Historical Review, 1700–1980 (original) (raw)

Each generation of Canadians has “discovered” the Arctic and, in a way, redefined itself in relation to it. Traditionally this re-discovery is accompanied by an expression of concern over our sovereignty claim to the islands and waters of the North. Various stimuli have been responsible for this recurring pattern, including: the exploratory expeditions of Franklin, Stefansson, Bernier and others; the transfer of jurisdiction over the Arctic Islands to Canada from Britain in 1880; challenges to our sovereignty over the Arctic islands from Norway, the United States, and Denmark in the 1920s; the construction of the Distant Early Warning in the 1950s; and, in our own generation, the voyage of the S.S. Manhattan in 1969. A wide range of writers and scholars has maintained an active discourse on questions related to these issues, developing an interdisciplinary field that is often called “Arctic sovereignty.” As a result, the sovereignty concept has acquired several layers of meaning, some of which will be explored in this book. Public discussion in Canada has largely, and legitimately, focused on policy questions that flow from sovereignty, from Canada’s right to exercise authority over that of any other state over vast areas of Arctic lands and waters. Thus I will address the central questions raised in the past such as: what is the status of Arctic lands and waters? Which states have defined Ottawa’s jurisdiction over the area in the past? How has Canada dealt with these challenges in the past? How well equipped is Canada to deal with such challenges in the future? What does circumpolarity imply for Canadian sovereignty? These questions usually encompass matters of international law, diplomacy, technological developments, defense, and economics. In addition I would suggest that Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic cannot be understood in isolation from the concerns of aboriginal people and historical developments. Consequently this paper will examine all of the above areas in relation to Arctic sovereignty, which will provide a framework for understanding the significance of the North to the Canadian identity and the ramifications of this identity for future developments in the North.