Canada is laying claim to 1.2 million square kilometres of seabed and subsoil in the Arctic Ocean—including the North Pole.
What is Canada’s claim to the Arctic?
Arctic sovereignty is a key part of Canada’s history and future. The country has 162,000 km of Arctic coastline. Forty per cent of Canada’s landmass is in its three northern territories. Sovereignty over the area has become a national priority for Canadian governments in the 21st century.
When did Canada claim the Arctic?
Canada ratified UNCLOS on 7 November 2003 and had through 2013 to file its claim to an extended continental shelf. As of December 2013, Canada had announced that it would file a claim which includes the North Pole. Canada planned to submit their claim to a portion of the Arctic continental shelf in 2018.
Why is it in Canada’s interest to claim sovereignty in the Arctic?
The Arctic is fundamental to Canada’s national identity. It is home to many Canadians, including indigenous peoples, across the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and the northern parts of many Canadian provinces. The Arctic is embedded in Canadian history and culture, and in the Canadian soul.
How does the Arctic Ocean affect Canada?
In turn, this leads to Arctic Ocean waters warming at an accelerated rate. Moreover, without ice coverage, winds are in direct contact with the water, creating waves. These waves increase erosion along the vast mainland shores and tens of thousands of islands in Canada’s North.
Who wants to claim the Arctic Ocean?
Exclusive Economic Zones
In the Arctic, this gives Canada, the United States, Russia, Norway and Denmark a legal claim to extensive sea floor areas that might contain valuable resources.
Who has a claim to the Arctic?
Eight countries have territory within it: America (through Alaska), Canada, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
How much of the Arctic Ocean does Canada own?
Canada is laying claim to 1.2 million square kilometres of seabed and subsoil in the Arctic Ocean—including the North Pole.
What country owns the Arctic Circle?
The land within the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland (where it passes through the small offshore island of Grímsey).
What does Canada own in the Arctic?
Canada and the Arctic region
Nearly 40 percent of Canada’s land mass is considered Arctic and Northern, consisting of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, and the northern parts of several provinces. Canada’s Arctic is home to approximately 150,000 inhabitants, of which more than half are Indigenous.
Why do countries want access to the Arctic Ocean?
As polar sea ice has melted and opened new potential shipping lanes, the Arctic has become a new frontier where nations are seeking oil and natural gas reserves and preparing to defend them militarily, if necessary.
What is unique about the Arctic region in Canada?
The Canadian Arctic has a unique geography making up 55% of the countries land mass and 67% of the country’s coastline. But what makes Canada’s Arctic so different from many of the other Arctic regions in the world are its islands. The Canadian Archipelago are made up of 36,563 islands.
Why does China claim Arctic?
China also believes that, in line with international legal treaties — especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Spitsbergen Treaty — it enjoys such rights as scientific research, freedom of navigation, and overflight, fishery, cable-laying and resource development in the Arctic high seas.
Why is the ocean important to Canada?
The coastal ecosystems that surround our oceans are also important as they support a wide diversity of marine and terrestrial species. As Canadians, we are all connected to our oceans, which are significant to our heritage, culture, and economy, and essential to all life on the planet.
Which ocean covers Canada?
It has three ocean borders: the Pacific Ocean in the west. the Atlantic Ocean in the east. the Arctic Ocean to the north.
How does the Arctic melting affect Canada?
Most prominently, snow and ice are melting at an increasing rate. This impacts both local ecosystems and the global climate system. It contributes to rising sea levels, and is likely to provoke extreme temperature events beyond the Arctic.
Which country is aggressively seeking to claim the Arctic Ocean?
Russia’s actions in the Arctic—its aggressive rhetoric and its far-reaching territorial claims—have done little to improve its diplomatic position there vis-à-vis other Arctic states and only antagonized them.
What five nations have claim to the Arctic?
The Arctic Five is the grouping of the five Arctic littoral states (Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States of America) in addressing Arctic affairs.
What is Canada doing to protect the Arctic?
As part of its commitment to support new protection for the High Arctic and create opportunities for Inuit, the Government of Canada is providing infrastructure investments totaling over $190 million to build multi-use buildings, food processing units and harbours.
How many countries claim the Arctic?
The Arctic region covers parts of eight countries: Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the United States.
How much of the Arctic is owned by Russia?
Russia stretches over 53 percent of the Arctic Ocean coastline. Approximately two and a half million of Russia’s inhabitants live in Arctic territory, accounting for nearly half of the population living in the Arctic worldwide.