Canada’s and Russia’s Security and Defence Strategies in the Arctic: A Comparative Analysis

Arctic Review on Law and Politics. 2022. Vol. 13. P. 232–257.

Whitney Lackenbauer P., Alexander Sergunin

This comparative article reveals how the general focus of Canadian and Russian threat perceptions
in the Arctic have shifted from a Cold War fixation on hard defence to accommodate soft
security issues over the last three decades. Both countries now pay greater attention to threats and
challenges stemming from climate change, security, and safety risks associated with resource development
and increasingly accessible sea routes. Although concern about military conflict arising
from Arctic disputes continues to frame some media discussions in both countries, most strategic
analysts and academics have moved away from this line of argument. Instead, military functions
now include assertion of Canadian and Russian sovereignty over their respective internal waters,
as well as protection of resources in their exclusive economic zones and on and in extended continental
shelves; protection of economic interests in the North, including mineral and bio-resources;
prevention of potential terrorist attacks against critical industrial and state infrastructure; and
dual-use functions, such as search and rescue operations, surveillance of air and maritime spaces,
support to safe navigation, and mitigation of natural and human-made catastrophes.
The authors argue that analysts should parse two forms of military modernization in the Arctic:
one of capability development related to the global strategic balance, where the Arctic serves as
a bastion or a thoroughfare; and a second intended to address emerging non-traditional security
challenges. They contend that these modernization programs do not inherently upset the Arctic
military balance and need not provoke a regional arms race.

Keywords: Russia, security, Canada, Arctic, defense strategies