Offshore Western Arctic oil and gas exploration could be back on the table

The days might be numbered for the federal government’s decade-long moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Western Arctic — at least in its present form.

“There is a review happening,” said Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand during a news conference at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit on Tuesday.

The moratorium, established in December 2016 by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, remains in place as the Liberal government charts “the best path forward,” Chartrand said.

The moratorium agreement calls for a review every five years. This includes ongoing meetings with Inuit organizations and territorial governments, Chartrand said.

At a news conference in Montreal at the same time, Prime Minister Mark Carney highlighted $11 million in funding to support “the governance and oversight of offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean.”

“This is capacity funding for Inuit leadership. It is absolutely not in any way, shape, or form a decision about lifting the moratorium,” Carney said.

Chartrand’s comments came in response to questions after a media event about the federal government’s $4 billion in cultural spending outlined in Thursday’s budget.

In her opening address at the event, she highlighted the new Canada Creative Credit, an annual tax cut on up to $45,000 of arts-related net business income for artists.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association President Olayuk Akesuk says he and other Inuit leaders met with Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand virtually two weeks ago. They discussed lifting the decade-long moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Western Arctic. (Photo by Daron Letts)

“We are also proposing stronger support for film, television, and digital production and a new productivity mega deduction to help eligible businesses invest in equipment and technology,” she added.

Chartrand met with staff at the Inuit Broadcasting Corp. on Monday.

The budget would provide an additional $300 million in funding to the CBC and Radio-Canada. The public broadcaster got $1.46 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The budget also proposes $134 million over four years for the Local Journalism Initiative, a program that supports independent local news in rural, remote, and under-served regions, including the Arctic.

She also highlighted $393 million in spending in support of francophone cultural institutions.

As for the moratorium on oil and gas exploration, Qikiqtani Inuit Association President Olayuk Akesuk and fellow Inuit leaders expressed their perspective with Chartrand during a virtual meeting two weeks ago, he said in an interview Tuesday.

“It is important to go through the regulatory process in order for us to support anything that might impact the environment,” he said. “Let’s work together to ensure that we are doing it properly.”

Nunavut Liberal MP Lori Idlout said she is confident that discussions about any return to exploration will be made in collaboration with Inuit.

— With files from Nehaa Bimal