Why the Arctic Matters to Canada’s Security

In this episode of What’s New?, Host Serafima Andreeva is joined in Ottawa by Nicholas Glesby, Network Administrator at the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network and PhD candidate at Trent University, to unpack how Canada views the Arctic from an international and security perspective.

The conversation explores Canada’s new Arctic foreign policy and its four pillars, the growing emphasis on sovereignty and Arctic diplomacy, and why Ottawa increasingly sees the Arctic as shaped by global geopolitical developments rather than as a conflict zone in its own right. Glesby explains how Canada understands emerging threats from Russia and China, how climate change intersects with security planning, and why the Arctic has become central to Canada’s defence priorities.

A major focus of the episode is the role of NORAD, including the history of continental defence, early warning systems across the Canadian Arctic, and the current push to modernize North American defence in response to advanced missile technologies. The episode also addresses Canada–US defence cooperation under the Trump administration, why military cooperation has remained remarkably stable, and how Canada is deepening Arctic cooperation with Nordic partners.

This episode focuses on Canada in the global Arctic — its foreign policy, defence posture, and role in North American and circumpolar security.
A follow-up episode will explore local and Indigenous perspectives in Canada’s Arctic, focusing on governance, lived security, and the priorities of Northern communities.