page_title: Arctic policy of Canada
section_title: The exercise of sovereignty
hierarchical_section_title: Arctic policy of Canada / The exercise of sovereignty
caption_attribution_description: English: Main bathymetric features of the Arctic Ocean, taken mainly from Weber 1983 'Maps of the Arctic Basin Sea Floor: A History of Bathymetry and its Interpretation' on a base of a screenshot taken from the Nasa WorldWind software
context_page_description: The Arctic policy of Canada includes both the foreign policy of Canada in regard to the Arctic region and Canada's domestic policy towards its Arctic territories. This includes the devolution of powers to the territories. Canada's Arctic policy includes the plans and provisions of these regional governments. It encompasses the exercise of sovereignty, social and economic development, the protection of the environment, and the improving and devolving of governance.
  Canada, along with the 7 other Arctic nations, is a member of the Arctic Council. On August 23, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq would serve as chair of the Arctic Council when Canada assumed the Chairmanship from Sweden in May 2013.
  Along with its mainland in the upper regions of North America, Canada claims sovereignty over the related continental shelf and the Arctic Archipelago. It considers the waters between the islands of the Archipelago to be Canadian Internal Waters. The United States among others considers those to be international waters.
  Canada has more Arctic land mass than any other country but one of the smallest Arctic populations.
context_section_description: Canada has had historic difficulty supporting its Arctic claims of sovereignty due to the sparsity of population, remoteness, and difficulty in effectively demonstrating administrative capacity. Most challenges to Canada's arctic sovereignty have historically come from the United States. As claims of sovereignty in the Arctic solidified with the end of territorial disputes around the Alaska panhandles, Canada's efforts at demonstrating sovereignty have shifted from the mainland of the north, to the Arctic Archipelago. Most recently, Canada's claims that the marine passageways within the Archipelago are Canadian internal waters have been actively challenged by the United States, who claims instead that these are international waters.
  In 1969, the SS Manhattan and, in 1985, the Polar Sea, both United States ships, sparked controversy in Canada by traveling through the waters of the Arctic Archipelago without the permission of Canada. Due to the remoteness of the area and a lack of capacity, Canada did not learn of the voyages until after they had occurred, a clear challenge to Canada's arctic claims. In the aftermath of both incidents, Canada strengthened its legislation covering such voyages and devoted additional attention to developing its capacity (both military and otherwise) for operating in the Arctic in support of its sovereignty claims.
caption: Bathymetric features of the Arctic Ocean
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