‘Very significant’: GG Mary Simon on Canada’s Greenland consulate opening this week
TROMSØ, Norway — Canada will officially open the new consulate in Greenland this week, a move Governor- General Mary Simon says reinforces Canada’s long-standing commitment to Arctic cooperation, even as geopolitical tensions ripple across the region.
“It’s very significant because we’ve had a long-standing relationship with Denmark and Greenland,” Simon said in an interview on Tuesday in Tromsø, Norway.
“This signifies that we’re there to work with them on the future and the present situation as it stands, and to strengthen our ties.”
Simon was in Norway to address the Arctic Frontiers conference, where she delivered keynote remarks on Indigenous women’s leadership and Arctic cooperation.
Her comments came against a backdrop of heightened Arctic uncertainty following repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting the United States should take control of Greenland — rhetoric Simon said has unsettled northern communities.
“Nervousness means you spend more time talking about what might happen rather than dealing with the issues you’re facing in your community,” she said, adding that uncertainty has had psychological impacts on families in Greenland and across the Arctic.
“Canada stands firmly behind Denmark and Greenland,” she said. “Another country should not interfere in a sovereign state.”
Simon’s stop in Norway marked the first leg of an Arctic tour that continues Wednesday in Oslo, where she is scheduled to meet with King Harald V, before traveling to Denmark and then Greenland for the consulate’s opening. Details of the Greenland itinerary are expected later this week.
The consulate had originally been slated to open in November, but the ceremony was postponed due to weather.
But Simon, an Inuk originally from Nunavik in northern Quebec, said the trip also has personal significance for her, reflecting decades of work building Inuit cooperation across the circumpolar north.
“We have families that share their relatives in the Canadian Arctic as well as Greenland,” she said.
“To me that’s an important part of our geopolitics—that our people-to-people ties with Greenland and the Canadian Inuit is very strong.”
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: GG Mary Simon, ITK’s Natan Obed among Canadians at Arctic Frontiers, Eye on the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic
Denmark: Denmark, Greenland leaders meet Merz, heading to Paris to shore up support, Reuters
Finland: Greenland clash left a mark on EU-US relations says Finnish PM, Yle News
Greenland: New Italy Arctic policy adds U.S. Greenland ambitions to growing Arctic competition narrative, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: NATO chief to Arctic Allies: “We’re all frontline states now,” as Iceland’s role grows, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: “We want to be Europe’s most integrated region in terms of defence”, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia claims first-ever North Pole aerial refuelling, TASS reports, Reuters
Sweden: Swedish military intelligence on the great power rivalry over Greenland, Radio Sweden
United States: Rubio says technical talks with Denmark, Greenland officials over Arctic security have begun, The Associated Press
