Canada’s Arctic Defence ‘Limited and Deteriorating,’ Internal Gov’t Report Says

Canada’s Arctic defence is ill-equipped to address threats because it is hindered by personnel shortages, inadequate threat detection systems, and unclear guidance, according to an internal Defence of National Department (DND) report.
“Canadian Armed Forces infrastructure in the Arctic region is limited and deteriorating; however, the exact status is unknown,” according to the evaluation of Canada’s Arctic defence capabilities.
The report highlights the aging Arctic infrastructure, noting that more than one third of buildings are over 50 years old and 81 percent are over 30 years old.
“The infrastructure deficit in the Arctic hinders the CAF’s ability to operate in the region,” said the report, which was first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The department also raised concerns about understaffing of military personnel in the Arctic region, describing it as a unique challenge for the Joint Task Force North (JTFN) compared to other Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) joint task forces. JTFN captains and lieutenants are staffed at 67 percent for “working level” command tasks, 13 percent below the CAF average, which the report says creates a greater reliance on contractors and augmentees to fill the gap.
Auditors also said a lack of clear objectives has led to a fragmented approach to defence in the Arctic.
“It is unclear what constitutes sufficient Arctic presence,” the report said.
While the CAF conducted an average of 12 exercises and operations annually in the Arctic between 2018 and 2022, the report says that without measurable objectives, it remains unclear whether the force is meeting the directives in Canada’s defence policy.
The government has “minimal consensus” on future Arctic security threats, auditors say. While the evaluation found no imminent military threat to Canada’s territorial sovereignty, it said Russia possesses military capabilities in the Arctic that could target Canadian Arctic assets.
“In our new defence policy, we’ve placed an enormous focus on the Arctic,” he said. “We know its strategic value and importance to our national and continental defence. But if we’re going to be effective in the Far North, first of all, I think there’s huge opportunities to us to invest in multi-use infrastructure that will benefit the people of the North.”
“All of our allies have made it very clear that they all know they need to do more, and they want us to do more,” Blair said, adding, “We haven’t had to invest significantly in the defence of our own country, but that situation is changing.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told allies at the 70th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that Canada is on track to meet the 2 percent defence-spending target and strengthen its Arctic security.
“We’ve made sure that our investments are as concrete as possible, and contributing to the capacity of Canadians to continue to be involved and leading in so many different NATO aspects. We have to do more, and we are doing more, but particularly stepping up in the Arctic,” he said on Nov. 25 in Montreal.