QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
Arctic Infrastructure
February 4, 2026
Canada has committed over $38 billion to modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and Arctic defence, yet critical infrastructure gaps remain. The Nanisivik Naval Facility is still not operational after years of delays; forward operating locations, such as those in Inuvik and Iqaluit, are under-equipped for potential future Royal Canadian Air Force — notably F-35 — operations; and many Arctic communities lack dual-use infrastructure that supports both sovereignty and community resilience.
My question to you is: Given growing adversarial activity across the entire northern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, and serious concerns raised by defence experts about Canada’s readiness, will the government provide a clear timeline and funding breakdown for the operationalization of Arctic infrastructure critical to NORAD and the Canadian Armed Forces deployability in the Arctic?
Canada is a proud Arctic nation, and we have a responsibility to protect and secure the region.
The government knows that defending the North and Arctic requires a consistent, long-term, well-equipped Canadian Armed Forces presence. The government is investing over $72 billion through the new defence policy — Our North, Strong and Free — and nearly $40 billion to the NORAD modernization plan, which supports an increased Canadian Armed Forces presence in the North and Arctic.
The government must ensure that it has appropriate and well‑situated refuelling facilities across all three of Canada’s coasts to support our Royal Canadian Navy’s important work. This is why the government has invested over $107 million in the Nanisivik facility.
Thank you very much. I’m very interested in infrastructure in particular.
Canadian military cooperation and interoperability across NATO — and especially with the Nordic partners — will be one of the critical elements in strengthening defence and deterrence in our North, and this starts with training together.
Will the government commit to expanding participation in the Canadian-led Operation NANOOK to highlight the unique security challenges in the North and create long-term partnerships?
The Prime Minister has announced that Canada and NATO allies have agreed to a new Defence Investment Pledge of investing 5% of annual GDP by 2035 to ensure our collective security. As part of this pledge, Canada will invest 3.5% of the GDP for core military capabilities, expanding on recent investments, and this means that the training will be positively impacted by that.
