Canada must protect the Arctic: survey

Eight in 10 Canadians believe the Arctic environment is unspoiled and fragile and should be the priority region for protection in Canada, according to survey results released April 14 by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.

The survey found 90 per cent of Canadians believe Canada has a special role to play at the international level as “the protector of the Arctic.”

“The Arctic is one of the few remaining ecological frontiers left in the world and Canadians are fiercely protective of it,” said Michael Goodyear, executive director of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, in an April 14 news release.

Canadians want Canada to have a lead role on the world stage with respect to the Arctic, found the survey, sponsored by the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, a family foundation, and conducted by Leger Marketing.

Among the survey’s other findings:

• Three quarters (75 per cent) of Canadians believe Canada should be the global leader in Arctic research, well ahead of other nations including Russia (five per cent), Sweden (four per cent) and the United States (two per cent);

• 77 per cent think Canada should invest in development of natural resources in the Arctic to demonstrate leadership;

• 40 per cent of Canadians believe expertise in Arctic resource development should be a strategic priority for Canada, followed by expertise in Arctic science (22 per cent) and Arctic security (16 per cent);

• 70 per cent of Canadians think of Canada’s territories (Yukon, Nunavut or Northwest Territories) when describing the Canadian North;

• 86 per cent of Canadians have not visited Canada’s Northern territories, yet seven in 10 (68 per cent) have indicated they are interested in visiting them one day.