Monday, May 18, 2026

Eye on the Arctic

Issues affecting circumpolar nations

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Arctic, defence on agenda as Finland’s president meets Mark Carney in Ottawa Tuesday

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic
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Finland’s President Alexander Stubb will visit Ottawa April14-15 along with Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen. (Terje Pedersen/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb in Ottawa on Tuesday as part of ongoing closer co-operation between the two countries.

“Canada and Finland have an immensely strong and growing relationship across defence, technology, energy and trade,” Carney said in a statement Sunday.

Ottawa has made closer ties with Nordic countries a cornerstone of its Arctic foreign policy, first outlined in 2024, in response to increased security concerns in the North and a shift by the Trump administration away from multilateralism, coupled with rhetoric about controlling Greenland and referring to Canada as the 51st state.

Since then, Ottawa has signed the ICE Pact with Finland and the United States to boost construction of icebreakers capable of operating in the High North.

Most recently, Carney took part in a Canada–Nordic summit in Norway, where he and Nordic prime ministers highlighted their joint commitment to Arctic security and NATO’s role in securing stability in the region.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, left, and Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen address the media at a press conference after a meeting with foreign ministers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland at the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia in Espoo, Finland Monday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

Stubb will be accompanied by Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen. She is also scheduled to meet with Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand in Ottawa on Tuesday.

Arctic security and the implementation of Canada and Finland’s strategic partnership will be the main topics of discussion, Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

“Canada is a key strategic partner for Finland, sharing similar values and aims,” Valtonen said. “Having close allies is more important than ever in the current geopolitical situation.”

Comments, tips or story ideas? Contact Eilís at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca 

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Analysis—Inside NATO’s race to secure the Arctic, CBC News

Greenland: Greenland prime minister rebuffs Trump remarks as NATO tensions rise, CBC News

Norway: Norwegian police move training north as Russia eyes body-snatching law, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Arctic militarization could lead to ‘unintentional incidents’ in region, Russia warns, The Canadian Press

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Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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