Today, on an episode of CanadaLand, I learned about some changes in messaging around the arctic.

In previous communications about the Arctic, the portion that we consider ours was referred to as the Canadian Arctic. Now, all of a sudden it became the North American Arctic.

Right about now, you may be wondering 2 things.

What does the arctic have to do with the tariffs?

Or you may be saying to yourself, “I didn’t realize we had a claim on the arctic.”

Actually, it’s not just us. Five countries currently have claims on the Arctic. They are:

Canada
Canada claims a significant portion of the Arctic, including the Northwest Passage and parts of the Arctic Ocean. Canada has disputed claims over portions of the seabed, particularly around the Lomonosov Ridge.

Denmark (via Greenland)
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is located in the Arctic. Denmark has submitted claims to the United Nations for the extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean.

Norway
Norway has claims in the Arctic, including the Svalbard archipelago and surrounding waters. Norway also has a long-standing dispute with Russia over parts of the Barents Sea.

Russia
Russia claims the largest area of the Arctic, including significant portions of the seabed. This includes claims to the Lomonosov Ridge, which it argues is an extension of its continental shelf. Russia is also actively militarizing its Arctic regions and is in disputes with several neighboring countries.

United States
The U.S. claims part of the Arctic through Alaska and has interests in the Arctic Ocean. However, the U.S. has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which would allow it to submit an extended continental shelf claim. It does have an ongoing dispute with Canada over the boundary in the Arctic.

Iceland
Iceland’s claims mainly focus on its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends into the Arctic region. It does not have territorial disputes in the Arctic, but it plays a significant role in Arctic governance.

What does Canada’s new arctic policy have to do with the tariffs?

Now that we know a little more about the arctic, let me explain what it has to do with the tariffs.

Sometimes something is said so quickly, or at the same time as so many other things that you may accidentally miss it.

Well, buried in there amongst all the tariff talk was this one little sentence worth of information that connects the tariffs and the Arctic.

Do you remember when we kept hearing rumours from insiders in attendance about what Trump and Trudeau discussed at Mar-A-Lago but we didn’t know for sure?

For example, we heard a rumour that Trump had joked about Canada being the 51st State. Then Trump made the same comment in writing on his social media which makes you believe he really had made the joke.

Well, apparently the three topics that were on the table at Mar-A-Lago were Trade, Energy, and the Arctic.

So it looks a little suspicious right now that all of a sudden Trudeau comes back home, then Canada suddenly unveils a new Arctic policy where it is referred to as the North American Arctic multiple times.

The timing of this announcement, and the change in language used to describe it makes it kind of sound like a concession.

Yup, yup, yup. That’s what it is. I’m calling it concession #2.

Why are so many countries laying claim to the arctic?

So right about now, you may be wondering, who cares? Isn’t the arctic just ice, snow and polar bears. Let them have it and call it whatever they want.

Well, here’s the thing, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, the US, Iceland aren’t just interested in the arctic because they love fuzzy cute polar bears. There is an excellent chance that underneath all that ice, is a whole lot of oil.

According to a BBC report, “The Arctic Circle may contain 160 billion barrels of oil and 30% of the planet's undiscovered natural gas,”

If that is the case, handing over Canada’s portion of it in a concession is not cool, and that may be the understatement of the year.

Hear more about Minister Joly’s unveiling of Canada’s new Arctic Policy here.

Find out here how to take action if the tariffs are implemented on January 20th, 2025.