IQALUIT – Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Ottawa will expand the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the Arctic and turn to Australia’s over-the-horizon radar tech to monitor threats from adversaries such as China and Russia.
Carney also pledged $253 million in new funding for Indigenous reconciliation initiatives in the North.
They include $94 million to upgrade power plants in Nunavut and $20 million for a hydroelectricity project to help move northerners off diesel.
Carney made the announcements during a short stopover in Iqaluit on the return leg of his first official trip abroad, during which the prime minister met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Carney is widely expected to trigger an early election in the coming weeks or days.
The Liberal party has enjoyed a sharp rebound in the polls in recent months, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s frequent threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty and Justin Trudeau’s dramatic exit from federal politics.
Carney is just days into the job after winning the Liberal leadership in a landslide a little more than a week ago and being sworn into office on Friday.
Carney spoke with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Tuesday morning about a new partnership on a long-range over-the-horizon radar system.
Senior government officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said ahead of Tuesday’s event that Australia’s system is sophisticated, will be ready sooner than competing options – as early as 2029 – and is expected to win praise within NORAD.
The senior officials said the footprint of the planned radar installation in southern Ontario will also be much smaller than competing options and will consist of a series of monitoring pillars stationed across 1.3 kilometres.
The Trudeau government announced the $6.9 billion over-the-horizon radar project about two years ago, The system is being built to monitor airspace from the Canada-U.S. border to the Arctic for incoming missiles.
The Canadian Armed Forces currently has year-round presence in Alert, Nvt. The Carney government has said it will spend $420 million on setting up another three to four similar operations in the region; the locations have not yet been determined.
The government has earmarked $94 million to upgrade power plants in Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Igloolik and Iqaluit.
The Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation hydroelectric project will get $20 million in federal funding for the engineering, while construction is set to start in 2029.
Carney announced $74 million for housing development, with $66 million going toward building and repairing homes across Nunavut.
