Inside Canada’s new Arctic ambitions

By Mike Blanchfield – Politico

OTTAWA — Long overlooked by Ottawa, Canada’s remote and resource-rich Arctic is suddenly at the center of a new national project — one whose potential was recognized early on by outside players, including the United States.

“There was a lot of interest from other places,” R.J. Simpson, the premier of Canada’s Northwest Territories, told POLITICO recently. “Even the U.S. Department of Defense has made investments into a couple mining projects in the Northwest Territories, yet we did not. We couldn’t seem to get any interest from Canada to get anything done up north.”