Science as Sovereignty Infrastructure in Canada’s Arctic

Canada’s Arctic stands at the heart of national priorities, as a strategic, contested, and rapidly transforming region, central to sovereignty, security, and identity. Federal policy now reflects this shift. Budget 2025 frames Arctic investments as instruments of sovereignty, while Canada’s evolving defence posture emphasizes surveillance, mobility, and sustained operational presence in the North.

More than ever, Arctic research and knowledge systems must be part of the equation. Knowledge systems should be an essential component of a broader sovereignty framework, and should be planned, supported and coordinated accordingly.

Positioning Arctic research at the core of defence and security

Recent frameworks, including Our North and Strong and Free [1], position the Arctic as a central pillar of Canada’s defence and security strategy, reflecting its critical role in continental defence, including advanced surveillance and early warning, geopolitical stability and national sovereignty.  Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy [2], which identifies Arctic safety, security, and defence as a fundamental national priority, reinforces these concepts.

At the core of this shift lies a less visible, but equally critical capability, Arctic research. Without sustained research capacity, Canada cannot generate the knowledge required to operate, adapt, and make informed decisions in the North. The emerging Defence Industrial Strategy [3], with expanded investment in research and development (R&D), creates a clear opportunity to position Arctic research as a core component of Canada’s defence and innovation capacity.

Yet Canada risks advancing a partial conception of sovereignty, one that prioritizes presence but underestimates the roles of knowledge and power.

Beyond presence: a more complete model of sovereignty

Historically, Arctic sovereignty has been associated with infrastructure, patrols, and physical presence. While these remain essential, it is also important to recognize that in the Arctic, presence is not abstract. Inuit have lived in and governed these regions for generations, and past approaches to asserting presence have, at times, overlooked or undermined this reality.

Sovereignty today is increasingly operational, dependent on the ability to understand and respond to rapidly evolving conditions through sustained monitoring, predictive capacity, and locally grounded expertise. Arctic research is therefore foundational: it enables situational awareness, informs decision-making, and underpins effective operations. 

Without robust knowledge systems, infrastructure becomes reactive, surveillance lacks context, and decision-making is weakened. This implies presence alone without the knowledge and capacity to act can be insufficient to ensure effective sovereignty.

ArcticNet: a national model of Arctic research as infrastructure

Canada already has the foundations of such a capability. ArcticNet illustrates how sustained investment in Arctic research can strengthen knowledge systems, support national presence, and enable northern leadership.

Since 2003, ArcticNet has supported research across Inuit Nunangat and the broader North, bringing together academic, northern, and Indigenous partners in a coordinated national network. Its model has evolved toward co-production of knowledge, integrating Indigenous and scientific approaches while strengthening Inuit and northern research leadership. 

ArcticNet is grounded in long-standing collaboration with academic institutions and Inuit organizations, including Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Treaty Organizations, and is actively working to strengthen and formalize this partnership framework. It demonstrates how Arctic research can function as knowledge infrastructure, supporting Arctic presence while advancing scientific discovery, Indigenous-led and community-driven research.

A structural gap in Canada’s Arctic research system

Despite these strengths, Canada’s Arctic research system remains underpowered relative to its strategic importance. A 2023 report of the Council of Canadian Academies [4] identifies persistent fragmentation, limited long-term funding, and weak coordination across programs and priorities. Addressing this gap requires stronger coordination across federal actors, including Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and closer alignment between policy, research, and long-term investment.

This is not simply a research policy issue, it is a sovereignty gap.

Knowledge as infrastructure and innovation platform

Canada benefits from a network of world-class research platforms, including ArcticNet, Amundsen Science, Ocean Networks Canada, Canadian High Arctic Research Station and others, that together form a distributed knowledge infrastructure. The challenge is not capacity, but sustained, coordinated investment and alignment with national priorities. 

These systems provide situational awareness, monitoring and predictive capacity while generating dual-use innovation benefits for defence, climate adaptation, and northern development. This approach aligns with Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy [5], which emphasizes integrated monitoring, Indigenous leadership, and coordinated knowledge systems.

Positioned effectively, Arctic research can serve as a national innovation platform, leveraging defence R&D investments to strengthen Canada’s broader innovation ecosystem.

From knowledge to power: centring Inuit leadership

Knowledge alone is not sufficient. The ultimate test of sovereignty is its translation into decision-making power. 

In the Arctic, Inuit leadership is essential. Inuit are rights-holders, knowledge holders, and central actors in shaping the future of the region. Canada’s approach must align with Inuit self-determination. 

This direction is clearly articulated by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in the National Inuit Strategy on Research [6], which calls for Inuit governance, alignment of funding with Inuit priorities, and control over data and knowledge systems. It reflects a broader shift: from research conducted in the Arctic to research led from within Inuit Nunangat.

Research systems must therefore be co-developed, support Inuit-led priorities, and ensure that knowledge informs decision-making authority in the North. Strengthening this model is not only a matter of reconciliation, but it is a condition of effective sovereignty.

Aligning science, infrastructure, and defence

Canada’s Arctic strategy is becoming more integrated. The same must now apply to research. This includes leveraging federal science leadership, including Polar Knowledge Canada, to build a more coordinated and sustained Arctic knowledge system.  

A modern Arctic strategy should embed research within infrastructure and defence planning, ensure sustained investment, and align scientific priorities with Indigenous-led and national governance objectives. This is not about expanding science in isolation, but recognizing it as part of a broader sovereignty and innovation architecture.

A strategic opportunity

Canada is at a pivotal moment. With expanded defence R&D, renewed Arctic focus, and strong institutional foundations, the elements of a more coherent strategy are in place. 

The opportunity is to align defence investment with Arctic research, strengthen Canada’s innovation ecosystem, and build lasting capacity in the North. This requires moving beyond a model of sovereignty defined primarily by presence, toward one grounded in the integration of presence, knowledge, and decision-making power.

In the Arctic, sovereignty is not only about being there.

It is about knowing and deciding what happens next.

References

1. Department of National Defence. (2024). Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/north-strong-free-2024.html
2. Global Affairs Canada. (2024). Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy. Government of Canada. https://international.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/corporate/reports/arctic-policy-2024?lang=eng
3. Department of National Defence. (2026, February 17). Security, Sovereignty and Prosperity: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/industrial-strategy/security-sovereignty-prosperity.html.
4. Council of Canadian Academies. (2023). Northern Research Leadership and Equity. Ottawa, ON: The Expert Panel on the Future of Arctic and Northern Research in Canada, Council of Canadian Academies. https://cca-reports.ca/reports/the-future-of-arctic-and-northern-research-in-canada/
5. Environment and Climate Change Canada. (2026). A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/biodiversity/canada-2030-nature-strategy.html 
6. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. (2018). National Inuit Strategy on Research. ITK website. https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ITK_NISR-Report_English_low_res.pdf

This editorial was developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools for drafting and editing support. All content, analysis, and conclusions are the responsibility of the author.