The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor; French: l'Agence canadienne de développement économique du Nord) is a policy initiative announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Federal Conservative Party in August 2009.
In various programs, CanNor promotes the growth of the economy, education, infrastructure development, and culture in Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
[6] Additionally, it has been found that as of 2007, the Northwest Passage has been at certain times of the year completely free of ice, leading to the possibility of this Arctic region becoming a shipping route.
While economic prosperity may lead to a better standard of living in isolated areas, it is likely to create conditions that will make it difficult for the Inuit to continue a self-sustaining way of life.
Climate change has been viewed as a global problem that needs to be reversed through the adoption of clean energy initiatives and non-invasive resource extraction.
[9] While the public holds this view towards the need to protect borders from Russia, Norway, Denmark and the United States, the demand for possession of resources in the Arctic is not a necessity.
This is due to the cold climate making it impossible to grow crops or build infrastructure up to present day, as well as the relatively low population density in Southern Canada.
[9] Canada unquestionably holds sovereignty in all areas wherein Canadian citizens live, which includes Nunavut, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
[9] Due to the lack of infrastructure and citizens in the area, Canada does not have a definitive claim to the Arctic if Northern sovereignty were to be threatened by another country.
[11] In addition, a hydroelectric power plant is being built in Lower Churchill to create infrastructure towards expanding the economy and population in the Northern region.
[14] If climate-induced changes continue at the current rate, the Northwest Passage will likely be completely free of ice between 2040 and 2059, leading to the possibility of becoming a shipping route in the near future.
[1] Since the majority of citizens living in the Territories are primarily First Nations and Inuit, this project is to foster job growth for these remote communities.
The projected budgetary spending of this initiative from 2017 to 2018 is to be $25,109,964, and it is funded by the government with a goal of creating a new economy to support the prospering of Canadian citizens in the far-North.
[15] Despite the low population in this region, the insignificant participation in the job market is a key contributor to poverty and social problems in this isolated area.
With petroleum-based resources being a significant reason for CanNor to organize an expansion into northern Canada, it is expected to cause a negative environmental reaction.
[1] A planned initiative for the organization is to, "support the effective implementation of environmental assessment processes for major projects in the North, including the coordination of participating federal departments and agencies.
"[1] While unveiling the CanNor policy initiative, environmental critics established a negative view of the government facilitating Northern expansion.
[19] The Arctic region of Canada is a fragile ecosystem, with the area warming at twice the rate as the rest of the world in the past twenty years.
[18] In association to climate change directly affecting on Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territories, there are a number of factors related to the CanNor project.