NATO’s secretary general is keeping a close eye on Canada’s northern defenses Thursday as he visits the Arctic, a region of growing geopolitical competition.
Accompanied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Jens Stoltenberg will take a first-hand look at a North Warning System radar station in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, part of a system that will be modernized as part of a multi-million renovation of NORAD, the north. American air defense system.
It will also see Canadian soldiers, and possibly some troops from some other allied nations, take part in Canada’s annual northern military exercise, known as Operation Nanook.
In a recent opinion piece published in the Globe and Mail, Stoltenberg noted the growing importance of Canada’s Far North as the West’s relationship with Moscow deteriorates over the Ukraine war.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk to military personnel about the Northern Warning System site in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. (Jason Franson /The Canadian Press)
“The shortest path to North America for Russian missiles or bombers would be through the North Pole,” the secretary general wrote. “This makes NORAD’s role vital for North America and for NATO.”
The visit is significant as the Liberal government faces growing pressure from allies to take more ownership of defense of its northern approaches.
In June, just before the latest NATO summit, Defense Minister Anita Anand pledged Canada would spend $4.9 billion over the next few years to upgrade NORAD, a joint military command with the U.S. united
The Liberal government also committed to a global investment in continental and northern defense that it says will exceed $40 billion over the next two decades.
Ottawa has yet to fully explain how the money will be spent, other than to say that roughly $15 billion will go toward infrastructure improvements.
Speaking at 5 Wing Goose Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, Anand said the base is one of four that will see improvements.
He said the airfield “will receive significant upgrades that will enable its continued ability to support NORAD operations and ensure the defense of North America.”
“When we look at the world today,” he continued, “we recognize that our geography and our existing continental defenses no longer provide the same protection as they once did.”