Canada has made a $ 6 billion dollar ($ 4.2 billion) for Australia to develop a state -run Radar for the Arctic that can detect ultrasonic rockets and other threats to Earth’s curvature.
Mr Carney has also announced hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending on military exercises all year in the Arctic and the construction of vital infrastructure for indigenous communities that make up the majority of the population there.
New Canadian funding and business plans are coming to the midst of a crisis in the US-Canada relationship as a result of President Trump’s ongoing threats to crush the Canadian economy through invoices and annexing it to the United States.
Mr Trump also expressed interest in the annexation of Greenland, part of a broader game for the Arctic, where Russia and China also bend to their muscles as the region emerges as a new border for global competition.
Mr Carney’s announcement on Tuesday marked Canada’s renewed interest in confirming his sovereignty over the enormous territory of the Arctic, amid intensification and changing geopolitical pressures that create doubts about the basic alliance of his country.
“Canada is, and forever be, a Nation of the Arctic,” Mr Carney said during a four -day stop at iQaluit, near the Arctic Circle, the capital of Nunavut’s northern Canadian territory, returning to Ottawa from a quick visit to Europe.
“We are strong, united and dominant.”
The new radar, developed by Australia, is known as Over-the-Horizon-Radar technology and is expected to be delivered by 2029, said a senior Canadian official who had not been authorized to speak to reporters in the archive.
It will be developed under NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Administration, the Agreement between Canada and the United States on the management and defense of the sky in the two countries. The mandate was founded in the early 1980s, when the prospect of Soviet missiles and bombers crossing the Arctic was considered the most serious threat to North America.
The decision to choose Australia as a provider for advanced radar technology was backed by the US Army, the senior Canadian official said, stressing that, despite today’s relationship between Canada and the United States, military cooperation continued.
The development of military technology and the maintenance of staff in the Arctic is a major challenge due to extreme weather conditions. Conventional equipment does not work properly in Arctic conditions and maintaining bases that can be staffed throughout the year is a challenge because access to the area is limited.
Promoting Arctic’s defense was a long -term demand of Canada from the United States. Canada, who is also a member of NATO, is committed to spending more on his overall defense budget to reach the doorstep of 2 % of his economic production – NATO’s goal for all members of the members.
But as Canada tries to boost his military spending, he faces new challenges for the supply of equipment.
Mr Trump said last week that he would not sell icebreakers in Canada that he wants to buy for the Arctic if Canada did not agree to become the 51st state of the United States. This led to calls to Canada to cancel an order for F-35 aircraft from the United States.
Mr Carney also announced that Canada had left $ 420 million to carry out three to four new military exercises in different parts of the Arctic in order to keep staff there throughout the year.
He also said that the federal government would spend $ 253 million in Canadian dollars to improve the infrastructure for locals, who are mainly inuit. Nunavut, with almost the size of Mexico, has a population of about 37,000.
