Coverage

The full 105‑seat Astro Theatre in Iqaluit hosted Malaya Qaunirq Chapman’s debut documentary “Nirilaurta: Let Us Eat” on Sept. 15, 2026. Forty turned‑away viewers received vouchers for free country food at the adjacent Storehouse Bar and Grill, where drum dancing opened the event. The film foregrounds food insecurity in Taloyoak—about half of Nunavummiut face high food costs—and recalls traditional hunting and fishing practices. Chapman urged audiences to recognize the burden of living costs and to demand change.

In just three weeks ATCO Frontec converted a site in Resolute Bay, Nunavut into a temporary base that can house 350 Canadian Armed Forces personnel for Operation NANOOK‑NUNAKPUT, which continues until September 25. The construction supports heightened northern readiness, surveillance and security, developed with Indigenous, government and community partners.

Sea Legend has begun weekly China‑Europe voyages via the Northern Sea Route, with South Korean vessels following; the Arctic route shortens the journey by roughly 20 days compared to the Suez Canal.

During the August 2025 storm surge, Tuktoyaktuk’s new quarried stone revetment—built over two years from 2018 with support of GNWT and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation—saved the hamlet, mayor says. The design was tested at the National Research Council. Funding proposals for further erosion mitigation are being assessed by Transport Canada under the Arctic Infrastructure Fund’s second stream.

On 21 Sept, U.S., Japan and South Korea foreign ministers met in New York and issued a joint statement affirming continued trilateral cooperation on Arctic matters. They did not announce a new shipping or ice‑breaker pact, but agreed to strengthen inter‑governmental communication, advance their existing maritime security framework and pursue small‑modular‑reactor deployment while addressing energy supply resilience.

Rear Admiral Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District, said U.S. forces are watching Chinese vessels that have operated off the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Strait and up to the North Pole in 2026. The ships were in international waters, had not notified Washington in advance, and claimed to conduct scientific research. Little warned that such activity could involve mineral‑mining research on U.S. seabed and that the vessels might provide China with a military advantage. China, which calls itself a "near‑Arctic" state, has been expanding its presence in the region and p...

NASA’s latest satellite‑based study, led by ice scientist Linette Boisvert and published in Communications Earth & Environment, finds the Arctic sea‑ice melt season has become about 40 days longer than in 1979, but the lengthening stopped around 2010. The decade‑long growth was driven mainly by later autumn freeze‑up rather than earlier spring melt; subsequent cloud‑pattern changes and thinner, younger ice have since stabilized the season, though researchers warn the pause could be temporary.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Ottawa reaffirmed their partnership, announcing plans to deepen defence and Arctic cooperation amid Russian hybrid threats. They agreed to expand intelligence sharing and joint development of underwater and space capabilities. Carney also highlighted a pending collaboration with a German‑Norwegian shipbuilder to produce and maintain 12 Canadian submarines and cited earlier talks that set a framework for Arctic security, space, critical minerals and energy aligned with Canada’s Arctic foreign policy.

From 18‑22 Sept 2026, U.S. and Canadian forces carried out a joint Arctic kill‑chain exercise called TUNDRA MERLIN about 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor. The drill included Alaska‑based F‑35 fighters, E‑3 AWACS, RCAF maritime patrol aircraft, U.S. Coast Guard cutters and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface vessels, testing rapid target detection, data‑flow, and engagement procedures.