Photo: AFPFor Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who heads to Norway next Friday to observe arctic defense drills involving troops from 14 NATO states, Canada’s extreme north has emerged as a strategic priority. “Canada is and forever will be an Arctic nation,” he said ahead of the trip. The more immediate risk is that Washington might conclude Canada is incapable of defending the Arctic, compelling the US military to take charge, he said. The ships are designed to operate in the harshest Arctic conditions, equipped for intelligence gathering, search-and-rescue as well as scientific exploration. The Seaspan ship “can go anywhere in the Canadian Arctic any time of the year, which is a very difficult requirement to meet,” Hargreaves said.

Source: Taipei Times March 14, 2026 16:09 UTC