Canada and the Circumpolar Regions

The Arctic is central to Canada’s national identity, prosperity, security, values and interests. The Canadian Arctic covers 40% of Canada’s territory and more than 70% of our coastline and is home to many Canadians across the region, including Indigenous Peoples who have inhabited this land since time immemorial.

Advancing Canada’s Arctic priorities involve many departments across the Government of Canada, both at home and internationally.

Global Affairs Canada and the Arctic

Global Affairs Canada is responsible for coordinating and leading the international aspects of Canada’s Arctic engagement. This work is carried out by the Nordic and Polar Relations Division in Ottawa, and by Canadian embassies around the world. Canada is an active founding member of the Arctic Council, the preeminent international forum for Arctic cooperation.

Global Affairs Canada’s main objectives in the circumpolar Arctic include:

Lead in implementing Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy (2024);
Support the identification of targeted, innovative trade and commercial opportunities for the North, benefiting Northerners;
Support national defence and security in Canada’s Arctic;
Help position Canada as a global leader in Arctic science and research; and
Assert Canadian positions and contribute to raising Canada's profile on Northern issues, through an active advocacy strategy involving Indigenous and Northern participation.

For Arctic-related updates from Global Affairs Canada, follow us on X (Twitter) at @CanadaArctic and Instagram at @CanadaArctic.

Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy

To stay ahead of evolving security and political dynamics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs launched Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy in December 2024. The Policy supports implementation of the co-developed Arctic and Northern Policy Framework (ANPF) and its international chapter by responding to evolving geopolitical developments in the region and providing new diplomatic tools and policies which position Canada to continue to assert its sovereignty and advance its interests pragmatically and effectively well into the future.

The Arctic Foreign Policy enables Global Affairs Canada to leverage diplomacy to support our national defence and security, manage Arctic boundaries through a rules-based approach, strengthen partnerships with Arctic allies and key non-Arctic states, demonstrate leadership on Arctic governance and multilateral challenges, and adopt a more inclusive approach to Arctic diplomacy.

To enhance and magnify our diplomatic leverage, the Policy has enabled several new measures to date including establishment of an Arctic Ambassador, opening a consulate in Greenland, and enhancing support for the Arctic Council as well as Indigenous and youth diplomacy.

The Arctic Foreign Policy draws on Canada’s pragmatic diplomacy agenda, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and the Future of Diplomacy. It also complements and benefits from the historic defence and security investments in Our North, Strong and Free.

Global Arctic Leadership Initiative

The Global Arctic Leadership Initiative (GALI) is a funding program promoting Canada’s interests in international Arctic engagement. Consult the GALI webpage to learn more about GALI’s objectives, projects, and funding opportunities.

Canada’s submission to the Commission on the limits of the Continental Shelf

On May 23, 2019 Canada filed a 2,100 page submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf at the United Nations. This follows a decade of scientific and legal work to determine the limits of Canada’s undersea landmass in the Arctic. This marked the first step in the process set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to obtain international recognition for the outer limits of the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean.

On December 19, 2022, Canada submitted an addendum to the Executive Summary of its 2019 Arctic Ocean submission. Within the next five years, new data collection and analyses will continue with surveys in remote areas to further support Canada’s addendum. Canada will file this information for the consideration of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is the leading multilateral forum through which Canada advances its Arctic interests internationally. It was established in Ottawa in 1996 by the Ottawa Declaration. Canada was the first chair of the Arctic Council, serving from 1996 to 1998, and served again from 2013 to 2015. Canada’s next Chairship will be from 2029 to 2031.

Canada’s Arctic Ambassador

Virginia Mearns, Canada’s Arctic Ambassador and Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council, advances Canada’s Arctic interests internationally. Consult the biography of Virginia Mearns to learn more about her background and her role.

Canada and the Antarctic

On October 22, 2021, Canada submitted its application for Consultative Party status in the Antarctic Treaty System. Canada recognizes the Antarctic Treaty System as the key multilateral mechanism for decisions on the regulation and management of Antarctica, and is committed to pursuing peaceful and environmentally responsible solutions to ongoing and emerging global issues. As an international leader on polar issues and with strong connections to research, tourism, governance and history in the region, it is time for Canada to take a more formal role as a steward of the Antarctic. Canada has long participated in the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings as a Non-Consultative Party and has been an active participant in discussions on Antarctic governance. With this application, Canada is seeking full membership alongside 29 other Consultative Party states.

Learn more about the Antarctic Treaty System and Canada's long-standing contribution to Antarctic research. (Polar Knowledge Canada)

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