Questions, concerns from Grise Fiord over potential bolstered military presence
Federal leaders, Nunavut candidates campaign on boosting military presence, strength in North
Larry Audlaluk rides his snowmobile to Grise Fiord after a trip on the land. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
With Arctic sovereignty a top issue in the April 28 federal election, some residents of the High Arctic community of Grise Fiord are reacting to a potential greater military presence in the region with questions and concern.
The past few months have seen a renewed interest in Arctic security from politicians, academics and business leaders from Nunavut and across Canada.
The leaders of Canada’s Conservative, New Democratic and Liberal parties all recently dropped into Iqaluit to share their parties’ plans to defend the North.
Those plans include a Conservative promise for a military base for Iqaluit. The Liberals are promising a $6-billion over-the-horizon radar system for the Arctic along with $420 million for the Canadian Armed Forces to have a more sustained Arctic presence as well as other infrastructure upgrades.
Increased concern over Arctic sovereignty has been simmering for years, as a warming climate opens access to minerals and new trade routes through the Northwest Passage. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 renewed concerns over that country’s expansionist tendencies, and China has long been interested in buying up mineral resources in Canada’s North.
These concerns have become increasingly heated in recent months with U.S. President Donald Trump targeting Canada as part of a global trade war and expressing a desire to annex Canada as well as Greenland.
Canada’s assertion of sovereignty in the far North is the reason Larry Audlaluk and his family were relocated from Inukjuak to the High Arctic in 1953.
Over 72 years of living in the area around Grise Fiord, Audlaluk says he has generally never felt unsafe in the Arctic.
Jimmy Qaapik, a Grise Fiord resident, has served with the Canadian Rangers there. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
“We feel quite safe, but we have a lot of questions,” he said.
“What if there’s an actual event where we have to evacuate?”
Audlaluk also mused about how armed hunters might be assessed if they were to run across the military while out on the land.
“I’m on the ice, I’m hunting seals, and I have to carry my firearms for safety, for polar bears, when I go camping,” he said.
“There is [a] military presence more frequently in Resolute and people are used to it, but I certainly am not used to it.”
Jimmy Qaapik has served with the Canadian Rangers in Grise Fiord. He said the ranger activities in the community have been quiet since the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said he feels “pretty safe” in Grise Fiord and that he also has questions about what a greater military presence might look like in the area.
“We don’t see much military presence here,” he said.
“If there was military presence there, then we’d be a target, right? So, no military, no target.”
But not everyone feels entirely safe.
Busuyi Afe, who moved to Grise Fiord last year after five years in Kinngait, said he’s concerned about Trump’s musings about making Canada the 51st state, as well as his calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.
“We need to protect the sovereignty of the land because I love to be Canadian, not American,” Afe said.
Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko, a councillor for the hamlet of Grise Fiord, says that if Canada increases its military presence there then the community should receive some benefits too. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
If the military is coming, hamlet Coun. Laisa Audlulak-Watsko said she wants to see her community benefit.
She points to Alert and Eureka, two facilities on Ellesmere Island where the military and other federal agencies are present. Those sites are well-serviced and have amenities for the employees stationed there, while many Grise Fiord residents struggle with the high cost of living and lack of employment opportunities.
“We shouldn’t have to [struggle], because we’re here for sovereignty purposes too. We’re watchdogs, we’re eyes and ears of the island … What’s different about us than people in Alert for all year?” she asked.
“If there is military presence, can they help us benefit with [costs]?”
This article was published with financial support from the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund.
What does Alert and Eureka have that you want? They dont have families that live there. Everyone has to work 12 hour shifts. They cant go hunting. they dont get country food. If you want the life style that they have get a job there. Yes you will need to train for a job there. but just like you would for almost any other non GN job.
Also i doubt having a military presence in Grise will make food cheaper. there would just be more people around that come and go that you dont know and arnt family and some of them might not be good people you want coming and going.
We should all be happy we dont have military around so much. Jimmy is right
“If there was military presence there, then we’d be a target, right? So, no military, no target.” well less of a target anyway
What if they re-established Grise Fiord as a permanent Northern military base, and moved everyone from Grise Fiord to another town with more Inuit and better access to Healthcare, education and job opportunities?
This would come with a promise to provide whoever is willing with a home that’s of equal or greater value than the one they are leaving, and a relocation lump sum payment to assist with furniture, kitchen supplies and basic necessities.
That way there aren’t random military people walking through town; they’ll have their own town. The military could establish defence capabilites to secure the needs of Canada’s northern shoreline and allow them to monitor the conservation needs of the Arctic ocean with a view to protect it from offshore drilling interests of other nations. For the whales.