Canada signals Arctic push with planned consulates in Greenland and Alaska

Canada is planning to open two new consulates in Greenland and in Anchorage, Alaska, as part of a broader effort to strengthen its presence in the Arctic, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on December 16.

The move aligns with commitments by Prime Minister Mark Carney to expand Canada’s military and security footprint in the Arctic, a vast, frozen and resource-rich region that has drawn growing attention from US President Donald Trump as well as from rival powers such as Russia and China.

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Anand described the Arctic as Canada’s foremost foreign policy priority. She underscored the strategic importance of the region, pointing to the steady expansion of Russian infrastructure further north and to the increasing accessibility of the Northwest Passage as polar ice caps continue to melt.

Canada had originally planned to open a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, in November, but the launch was postponed due to adverse weather conditions. Anand said there is currently no confirmed timeline for the opening of a Canadian consulate in Anchorage.

Tensions among Arctic nations intensified earlier this year after Trump publicly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. Asked how Ottawa is responding to such statements, Anand said she has been actively engaging her counterparts in the Nordic countries to ensure there is no ambiguity about the strategic importance of the Arctic and about Canada’s sovereignty in the region.

She also said she recently held discussions with Mark Rutte, urging him to increase the allocation of resources to the Arctic. Anand said she pressed the NATO chief on what concrete steps the alliance plans to take, stressing that Canada itself is moving to reinforce its Arctic presence.

In that context, she referred to Carney’s pledge to raise Canada’s defence spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product this year and to 5 per cent by 2035.

Anand added that she intends to invite a group of foreign ministers to visit the Canadian Arctic next summer, as part of efforts to highlight the region’s growing strategic significance and Canada’s role there.

By Tamilla Hasanova