Canada and the 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 will next chair the council for 2 years starting in 2029.
Overview of the Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is the pre-eminent intergovernmental forum for circumpolar cooperation.
Arctic Council members
The Arctic Council comprises 8 Arctic states and 6 international Indigenous Peoples' organizations as Permanent Participants.
Canada’s work in the Arctic Council
Canada continually strives to ensure it can effectively advance its national and international Arctic interests.
News
Official Government of Canada news releases, statements and media advisories related to the Arctic Council.
Overview of the Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is the pre-eminent intergovernmental forum for circumpolar cooperation. It is committed to the inhabitants of the Arctic, including Indigenous Peoples and their communities, who contribute unique knowledge and perspectives to the council because of their special relationship with the Arctic. The council works to promote sustainable development, including economic and social development, and cultural well-being. The council is equally committed to the protection of the Arctic environment, addressing climate change, pollution, maintenance of biodiversity in the Arctic region and conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The council has developed a common agenda for action and serves as a foundation for strong, responsible and cooperative activities in the Arctic.
The work of the Arctic Council is supervised and directed by the ministers of foreign affairs of the 8 Arctic states and is supported by the senior Arctic officials. Canada’s Senior Arctic Official is Ambassador Virginia Mearns.
Arctic Council members
The Arctic Council comprises the 8 Arctic states: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (which includes the autonomous constituent countries of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
The involvement of 6 international Indigenous Peoples’ organizations as Permanent Participants is a unique feature of the Arctic Council. They sit at the table in their own right. Three of the 6 organizations have Canadian constituents.
- Aleut International Association (U.S. and Russian constituents)
- Arctic Athabaskan Council (U.S. and Canadian constituents)
- Inuit Circumpolar Council (U.S. , Canadian, Greenlandic and Russian constituents)
- Gwich’in Council International (U.S. and Canadian constituents)
- Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (Russian constituents)
- Saami Council (Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Russian constituents)
Canada’s work in the Arctic Council
Canada continually strives to ensure it can effectively advance its national and international Arctic interests. These interests include maintaining clear focus on the peoples of the Arctic in the council’s project work to integrate social, economic and cultural development and environmental protection. Furthermore, the council provides Canada with a venue for meaningful circumpolar cooperation with neighbours and ensures Northern voices, including those of Arctic Indigenous communities, are included in decision making.
Canada, through several federal departments and agencies, actively participates in the technical and scientific work of the Arctic Council, where over a hundred technical projects are ongoing. This work is carried out in the following 6 expert working groups:
- The Arctic Contaminants Action Program works to prevent and reduce pollution and environmental risks in the Arctic
- The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme provides reliable scientific information on the status of and threats to the Arctic environment and provides advice to support governments and international processes in taking action relating to contaminants
- Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna works to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity and to communicate its findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, helping to promote practices that ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources
- Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response contributes to the prevention, preparedness and response to environmental and other emergencies, accidents, and to search and rescue efforts
- Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment addresses policy and non-emergency pollution prevention and control measures related to the protection of the Arctic marine environment from both land- and sea-based activities
News
List of official Government of Canada news releases, statements and media advisories related to the Arctic Council.
Related links
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