It now rests at the centre of debates about climate change, national sovereignty, security, economic development and community wellbeing. For northern and Indigenous communities, these shifts are not distant theories—they shape daily realities and underscore the need for shared decision-making that listens to the voice of local communities and local leadership.
“Canada has long considered the Arctic its backyard. It’s now time we realize it as our front yard,” summarized Professor Jackie Dawson, Canada Research Chair in the Human and Policy Dimensions of Climate Change at uOttawa. Her comments opened Bridging the North: The Nordic-Canadian Arctic Symposium 2026, which the University of Ottawa convened in partnership with Nordic missions and Global Affairs Canada.
From principle to practice: making collaboration operational in the Arctic
Collaboration and local ownership are now central to Arctic policy and research discussions, but Indigenous leaders made clear that recognition has not consistently translated into decision-making power. Across domains, Arctic leaders emphasized that initiatives lacking meaningful partnership with northern and Indigenous communities are unlikely to last.
They emphasized that longstanding infrastructure gaps now intersect with accelerating climate impacts and renewed geopolitical pressure. These overlapping forces have heightened global attention on the Arctic while exposing the consequences of decisions made without drawing on the important perspectives of local leadership.
“Canada has long considered the Arctic its backyard. It’s now time we realize it as our front yard.”
Professor Jackie Dawson
— Canada Research Chair in the Human and Policy Dimensions of Climate Change
Researchers and policy experts repeatedly pointed to science as a starting point, but not as a sufficient one. Leaders stressed that changes in Arctic ice, oceans, permafrost, infrastructure, ecosystems and human health are interconnected and unfolding simultaneously. Understanding their cascading impacts requires shared datasets, coordinated observation systems, and research networks that cross borders and disciplines. There was strong support for open data practices and for research partnerships that integrate Indigenous knowledge systems as foundational, not optional.
But knowledge alone does not translate into action. In terms of governance, leaders emphasized that northern and Indigenous peoples must play a central role in decision-making, rather than being engaged episodically or symbolically. The Arctic is home to four million people, a reality often obscured when the region is framed primarily as a strategic theatre.
For example, the Arctic comprises 40 percent of Canada’s land mass and accounts for 73 percent of its coastline. Yet too often, said one speaker, engagement happens in NGO spaces rather than through nation-to-nation relationships. In northern communities, sovereignty is built through trust, respect and cooperation, all of which are anchored in the recognition of Indigenous peoples as rights holders, not simply stakeholders.
Governance collaboration also requires breaking down silos. Housing, health care, education, infrastructure and security are deeply interconnected in northern communities, and policy responses that treat them separately risk compounding existing vulnerabilities.
These same dynamics shape how economic development is understood. Northern and Indigenous leaders stressed that the question was not whether the Arctic holds potential, but how development is defined and who benefits.
Leaders pointed to emerging opportunities in critical minerals, renewable energy, culture, entrepreneurship and technology while cautioning that sustainable development cannot be imposed from outside.
Instead, it must reflect northern priorities and values, be led by northerners, and strengthen long-term stewardship. Without these attributes, governments risk repeating extractive approaches that have failed Arctic communities in the past.
A statement by a delegation of Indigenous youth further advanced this position by insisting that economic development must advance self-determination and the social determinants of health, such as education, health care and food security. They also called for practical mechanisms to develop human talent, such as internships, entrepreneurship pathways and culturally grounded programs supported through Arctic cooperation networks.
Security and resilience: “hard” and “human” must move together
Discussions on Arctic security also reflected a rapidly shifting reality. Accelerating climate change, renewed geopolitical interest and growing strategic competition have pushed the North to the forefront of national and international security agendas. Speakers stressed that security in the Arctic cannot be understood or addressed through military readiness alone.
In remarks that drew global attention, Canadian Minister of Global Affairs Anita Anand said that Canada was facing a “pivotal” moment in the Arctic, where a shifting security environment demands unprecedented investments in equipment and a more robust physical presence. She pointed to recent federal commitments aimed at strengthening Canada’s capacity to operate and respond across air, sea and ice.
She also emphasized Canada’s commitment to asserting Arctic sovereignty through infrastructure, sustained relationships, and above all, genuine partnership with Indigenous peoples and northern communities.
Arctic security decisions, she argued, must be grounded in respect, consultation and shared economic benefit in line with reconciliation commitments and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
On the international front, she underscored how Arctic collaboration—including with NATO partners and through new diplomatic footprints in Nuuk and Anchorage—will boost Canada’s credibility and long-term stability in the region.
Minister Anand also applauded uOttawa’s multidisciplinary research approach, calling for more vital work to come from its Arctic Research Hub.
Elsewhere, discussions also underscored that the Arctic’s harsh conditions mean resilience isn’t a onetime “fix” but an ongoing condition. Participants acknowledged that strategic interest from Russia and China, dual-use infrastructure concerns and the emergence of hybrid threats, such as cyber disruption, communications interference, and attacks on critical telecom infrastructure, were all factors shaping this “new era.”
uOttawa as a powerful convenor of critical Arctic leadership
The depth and breadth of its interdisciplinary research expertise on Arctic issues has positioned the University of Ottawa to convene experts and lead these vital national and international conversations, said President Marie-Eve Sylvestre.
“uOttawa is a place of power, leadership and transformation at the intersection of science, commerce and policy. For the University of Ottawa to convene this symposium signals our clear and long-term commitment to Arctic research and engagement.”
The opportunities for Arctic nations are immense, but so too are the challenges, many of which cross cultures, borders and domains of expertise.
President Sylvestre highlighted uOttawa’s Arctic Research Hub, led by Professor Dawson, which brings together more than 60 researchers working on a range of Arctic and northern priorities, including sovereignty, Indigenous law and governance, infrastructure resilience, security, remote sensing and northern policy.
The Hub’s interdisciplinary research agenda, strengthened through partnerships with Indigenous communities and membership in Nordic university networks, was presented as a platform for sustained research collaboration.
“Professor Dawson represents the kind of scholarship the Arctic needs today,” said President Sylvestre. “Rigorous, collaborative, and grounded in northern realities.”
“For the University of Ottawa to convene this symposium signals our clear and long-term commitment to Arctic research and engagement.”
Marie-Eve Sylvestre
— President and Vice-Chancellor
A platform for sustained Arctic dialogue and research
The symposium pointed to a clear institutional takeaway: Canada needs a trusted, capable platform that can convene researchers, Arctic residents, Indigenous rights holders, governments and international partners and do so consistently, credibly and over the long term.
With its Arctic Research Hub, interdisciplinary research strength, circumpolar networks, and ability to translate knowledge into policy and practice, the University of Ottawa is demonstrating that it can be that platform.