Who benefits from the Arctic economic and security corridor? It depends who you ask
By Samuel Wat
Prominent northern leaders have been touting the Arctic economic and security corridor as a “nation-building” project that will bring economic benefits to the two territories it straddles, but others are split on how much good will come out of it.
Amidst the decline in mining in the Northwest Territories, Tłı̨chǫ grand chief Jackson Lafferty sees an opportunity to benefit from the project that crosses Tłı̨chǫ land. Alongside the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the Tłı̨chǫ government signed a memorandum of understanding in November to jointly lead the project from the N.W.T. side.
“[The] last 25 years, the diamond mines came and it was on their terms, and they told us what to do and how it’s going to be laid out. Now it’s on our terms,” said Lafferty.
The corridor has been cited as a potential project for fast-tracking by the federal government.
It would include the construction of a deep-water port at Grays Bay in Nunavut, to handle navy vessels as well as large cargo ships capable of loading and transporting materials from future critical mineral mines in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
A 230-kilometre all-weather road would connect the port to Jericho Station in Nunavut, home to a defunct diamond mine, and from there to a winter road to Yellowknife.
Lafferty says he’s already in talks with key stakeholders in Ottawa and overseas. He also sees the project as a way to connect the remote communities of Gamètı̀ and Wekweètì, N.W.T., to the rest of the territory by road.
The nearest community to Grays Bay is Kugluktuk, Nunavut, situated about 200 kilometres away from the proposed port. The West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. is the proponent of the project on the Nunavut side.
CEO Brendan Bell says the Grays Bay location was among very few options that had access to tidewater, which is key to accommodating large ships, and there were no Nunavut communities nearby with that level of accessibility. But he still believes there will be benefits to hamlets in the Kitikmeot region.
“Large ocean-going vessels can come in, be broken down into smaller size barges, which will then go where they can be accepted or accommodated at Kugluktuk and at Cambridge Bay. So if you think about building materials or seasonal resupply, this is access that those communities have not had to tidewater in the past,” he said.
Is it ‘nation-building’?
Amanda Dumond, the manager of the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO), isn’t sold on the benefits of the project.
Given the distance to the community, she worries most of the jobs will be short-term, rotational work, which can be especially difficult on families.
“Look at existing projects around the North, including some mineral exploration camps or even some existing mines, they can’t even fill to capacity,” she said.
Bell feels differently about the employment prospects for Nunavummiut, and looks to Yellowknife as an analogue.
“The Ekati, the Diavik, the Gahcho Kué mines are clearly not in the City of Yellowknife. But the economic benefits to communities in the neighbourhood, if you will, have been profound,” he said.
There’s also the Arctic security aspect to the project. Bell says the construction of the port would allow greater access for vessels like Canadian Coast Guard ships and submarines, as well as plane access on the proposed airstrip.
However, Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout says there’s a clear distinction between bolstering Arctic security, and Arctic sovereignty, and she doesn’t believe there’s much emphasis on the latter with this project.
“If it were to help nation building, then Nunavut children should not have to go to school hungry, people should not have to live in overcrowded housing conditions, students shouldn’t have to go to schools that are deteriorating,” she said, adding that it’s unclear what long-term employment opportunities would result from the project.
Idlout sees a role for Nunavummiut in strengthening security in the region, but she says that cannot happen if residents aren’t living in healthy conditions. She also worries that, rather than drawing on local Canadian Rangers and search and rescue teams, most of the project’s resources will be imported from the South.
“We have specific knowledge about the environment that should be used as a way to help keep the Arctic secure,” she said.
‘They want to bulldoze this, and for what?’
There’s a history of the Grays Bay area to Kugluktuk residents. Dumond explains it’s a traditional hunting, fishing and camping area, and it’s used to travel to-and-from Cambridge Bay and Bathurst Inlet. She says it’s an untouched area with not even a cabin in sight.
“It’s so pristine right now. It’s so beautiful. It’s so clean and it’s just amazing. And I was just heartbroken because … they want to bulldoze this, and for what?”
As well, Dumond says the all-season road cuts right through prime Dolphin-Union caribou habitat and it would disrupt their migration route to Victoria Island. She also worries the port could increase the risk of ice breakage, and that could be hazardous for those travelling to hunting grounds and other communities.
Bell acknowledges there will be some repercussions to the environment. He says the West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. has been doing community consultations and baseline wildlife work for the past few summers, that will help them build mitigation measures into the design. He expects to submit an impact statement to the Nunavut Impact Review Board in the spring of 2026.
As for how the project will alter Tłı̨chǫ land, Grand Chief Lafferty says he knows there will be a lasting impact, but he believes community leaders like himself should be the ones tasked with ensuring environmental stewardship is upheld.
“It is a clear message that we’re open for business, but we are doing it in a professional manner where we’ll have to look after our wildlife, our water, our environment,” he said.
No easy undertaking
Bell says the early estimated cost of the project is $1 billion for the Nunavut side, but with construction not expected to begin until 2030, he expects that estimate will rise.
The West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. is planning to raise 25 per cent of those funds in the private market. Bell says he isn’t expecting the Nunavut government to front the money for this project given the other infrastructure demands in the territory, but he’s pushing for the federal government to help fund the remaining 75 per cent.
Building this road will be no easy undertaking. Arlen Foster, the operations lead for the territories at Stantec, says the engineering consultancy company is working with the N.W.T. government and the West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. on preparations for environmental assessments.
He says there are many logistical considerations because the road would be built on permafrost and bedrock, and there are challenges with shipping materials up as well. But he looks to the all-season Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway as an example that building in the Arctic is possible.
Foster believes the national interest in the project could also draw attention to the need for improvements to basic infrastructure in communities, like water treatment plants, community centres and sewage lagoons.
“When there’s increased attention from the federal government into the North, we see those ripple effects that can help bring about the other pieces of infrastructure that the communities really need and have been asking for for quite some time,” he said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Yellowknives Dene and Tłı̨chǫ government sign MOU to take lead on Arctic security corridor, CBC News
Finland : Sami turn down participation in Lapland wind power survey, Eye on the Arctic
China: China, Russia singled out in new U.S. Arctic defense strategy, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: Nordics should aim for common approach to China’s Arctic involvement says report, Eye on the Arctic
Russia: National security chief says Russia must bolster its Arctic military, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Alaska Ambler Road project back in focus as company outlines vision for work ahead, Eye on the Arctic
