Canada’s Far North Poised for Economic Turnaround, Premier Says

From Bloomberg

Amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to take Greenland, melting polar ice caps opening up new shipping routes, a desire by North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries to secure the Arctic and a growing appetite for a broad range of critical minerals, places such as the Northwest Territories are getting a surge of attention.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the capital of Yellowknife to announce C$32 billion ($23 billion) to shore up Arctic defenses. At the same time, the government has sent a series of northern road, port and electricity generation proposals to the Major Projects Office, an entity that helps secure financing for infrastructure projects and shepherds them through regulatory hurdles. These include the Mackenzie Valley Highway, an 800 kilometer (497 miles) road that would connect the towns of Yellowknife and Inuvik, as well as the Grays Bay Road and Port, a planned deep-water port on the Arctic Ocean.