What’s good for the Arctic is good for the world. That was an overarching theme of two days of talks hosted by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society on the shared interests of Norway and Canada, both Arctic nations with high stakes in the global conversation about the climate crisis. 

The talks, which focused on the future of the Arctic and opportunities in the “blue economy,” were held Nov. 23 and 24 at Canada’s Centre for Geography and Exploration at 50 Sussex Drive in Ottawa and featured a dynamic lineup of speakers from both Norway and Canada, including Jon Elvedal Fredriksen, Ambassador of Norway in Canada; Eivind Vad Petersson, State Secretary for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Heidi Kutz, Director General and Senior Arctic Official with Global Affairs Canada; Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster; and Sturla Henriksen, Special Advisor, Ocean at the UN Global Compact. Canadian science journalist and playwright Alanna Mitchell acted as emcee and moderator for the events, which were also streamed live for an international audience. 

John Geiger, CEO of the RCGS, noted the Society and the Norwegian Embassy have a rich, collaborative relationship that reflects both countries’ longstanding diplomatic ties as pioneers in polar exploration and science, and as modern Arctic nations and policymakers. In 2017, the Society, along with Ambassador Fredriksen’s predecessor, Her Excellency Anne Kari Hansen Ovind, was proud to present the first-ever English translation of legendary Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition diaries to the speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate in an event held at 50 Sussex. And the following year, the Society hosted Lessons from the Arctic, an important exhibit honouring Amundsen’s accomplishments, which include being the first person to traverse Canada’s Northwest Passage. 

“All these collaborations are fitting connections to our shared interests and priorities, and to our ongoing relationship,” Geiger said. 

Here are four interesting things we heard about Arctic policy and sustainable ocean management in Canada and Norway. 

Canada has an Arctic policy framework that is “for the north, by the north”

The federal government’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, launched in 2019, sets out a strategic vision for the sustainable development of the Arctic from now through 2030. The document is unique in that it was drafted not just by federal bureaucrats, but with input from a number of provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners — and it will be implemented in cooperation with those partners as well. The goals and objectives outlined in the framework align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and address social and environmental dimensions of development as well as economic. 

“It’s really an approach for the north, by the north,” said Wayne Walsh, Director General for the Northern Strategic Policy Branch at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. 

The Arctic is not homogeneous, and its people are its strength

Both Canada and Norway are working to challenge misconceptions of the Arctic as a vast, lawless, largely uninhabited frontier. “The Arctic, for Canada, is fundamental to our national identity,” said Heidi Kutz, Director General and Senior Arctic Official with Global Affairs Canada. Canada is the second-largest Arctic nation by land mass. The region is home to 137,000 people across three provinces and territories, most of them Indigenous. 

The proportion of Norway’s population living in its Arctic region is even larger — nine per cent or around 490,000 people. Both Arctic regions face similar challenges, including high transportation costs, lack of public infrastructure, and security issues related to climate change and increasing international interest. 

Canada’s priorities for the Arctic on the international stage include strengthening the rules-based international order in the Arctic, more clearly defining Canada’s Arctic boundaries, supporting a safe, secure and well-defended north, and focusing on the human dimension of the Far North, such as the importance of Indigenous traditional knowledge and participation in climate change monitoring and adaptation. 

For Kutz, who has only been in her role since September, “There can be nothing more meaningful and slightly daunting than being able to work on the Arctic, where the nexus between the domestic and the international becomes so clear.”