On the other hand, Russian activities in the Arctic have also grown in the recent past, particularly with the construction of military bases in the region.
“Nobody would invest the kind of money in building up the military capacity in the Arctic without reason, intent or purpose,” Thomas pointed out. “We should not be naive about that. It doesn’t mean it is immediate, but it is there.”
Efforts to improve Canada’s military presence in the Arctic were launched more than a decade ago, under the direction of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. His government launched a programme for Arctic offshore patrol ships, initiated plans to build a new polar-class icebreaker and announced the construction of a new naval port in the north. According to PM Harper, the reason for the expansion was the presence of resources in the country’s Arctic territory which are critical to Canada’s economic growth, such as oil, gas and minerals.
Nevertheless, the difficult logistics of construction of installations and resupplying forces in the harsh northern territory have so far limited Canada’s ambitious military plans for the polar region.
