Carney says Ottawa will boost Arctic security with help from Australia – National [Video]

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Ottawa will expand the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the Arctic and turn to Australia’s over-the-horizon radar tech to monitor threats from adversaries such as China and Russia.

Carney also pledged $253 million in new funding for Indigenous reconciliation initiatives in the North.

They include $94 million to upgrade power plants in Nunavut, $20 million for a hydroelectricity project to help move northerners off diesel, and $66 million to build and repair homes across Nunavut.

“The announcements today will strengthen Arctic security, they’ll bolster our partnerships with our closest allies, they’ll build the North’s economic potential and advance reconciliation,” Carney said during a short stopover in Iqaluit on the return leg of his first official trip abroad.

“Canada is, and forever will be, an Arctic nation.”

Carney is widely expected to trigger an early election in the coming weeks or days.

The Liberal party …