U the North

“The northern lights glitter in green, purple and red ribbons as they dance across the Arctic night sky. While beautiful, they can interfere with radar signals that the Canadian Armed Forces use to monitor air traffic in the polar region. The stakes are getting higher every year. Russia is becoming more aggressive: after invading Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin is increasingly turning its eye across the North Pole. While China is not an Arctic power, it is flexing its muscles, showing interest in the mineral riches of the region and opportunities for northern shipping. And under President Donald Trump the United States, once a reliable ally, has openly threatened the sovereignty of both Canada and Greenland. With Canada’s relationship with the U.S. in tatters, we can no longer count on our neighbour to protect us. With the growing peril in the Arctic, experts on the northern lights at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) are eager to contribute. The research of scientists Glenn Hussey and Daniel Billett has drawn the interest of Defence Research and Development Canada, a federal agency dedicated to creating technology for national security. “As Canadians, we want to look to the North since people we don’t necessarily trust could be sending planes over the poles towards us,” says Dr. Hussey a professor in the faculty of physics and engineering physics. “Obviously, that’s a huge worry.” The northern lights show up on radar as “noise” that makes it harder to identify aircraft signatures. For defence officials, the risk is that a plane’s signal can get lost in a strong aurora event, effectively hiding its activity. “The military wants to get rid of the atmospheric interference in their data so that they can see where the planes are going,” says Dr. Billett, an assistant professor in the faculty of physics and engineering physics. A key element of the research is enhancing the ability to detect aircraft that are thousands of kilometres away. Line-of-sight radars can only find objects that are within a range of about 200 kilometres because of the curvature of the Earth. However, the USask researchers are working on a project called SuperDARN, in which the acronym “DARN” stands for Dual Auroral Radar Network. To study the aurora, they use radars with high-frequency radio waves which bend in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and are known as “over-the-horizon radars.” The scientists are developing tools to filter radar data and provide better identification of aircraft. “We are helping the military to identify aurora or northern lights radar signatures, which are ‘noise’ to their objective of detecting aircraft,” Dr. Hussey says, adding that his group does not currently have a formal contract with the Canadian military. USask is not alone. Across the country, university scientists and researchers are helping defend northern sovereignty. As threats grow in the Arctic, they are part of the movement to enhance our defences, build the economy and improve health and living conditions for residents there. “Universities are central to strengthening Canada’s defence capability,” says Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada, which publishes University Affairs. “We have a vital role to play, from developing vaccines that protect troops and civilians during global outbreaks, to advancing clean-energy technologies that reduce military supply-chain risk, to supporting Arctic communities that anchor our sovereignty in the North.” The northern lights shimmer over an auroral radar installation in Nunavut. (Photo courtesy: SuperDARN Canada) Yet the obstacles are many. The Canadian Arctic is huge – more than four million square kilometres of land, water and ice. It’s sparsely populated: according to the 2021 census, approximately 132,000 people — about three-quarters of whom are Indigenous — live in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region of Quebec. Most military and search-and-rescue resources are located thousands of kilometres to the south. Icebergs and melting glaciers pose threats to navigation in the Arctic Ocean. And the landscape is foreboding and dangerous: endless snow and sub-zero temperatures abound for much of the year. The nation’s military resources in the North are spread thin. However, after years of neglect, protecting Canada’s sovereignty is finally a priority. In its newly published Defence Industrial Strategy, the federal government laid out a target of increasing defence research by 85 per cent and announced the creation of the Science and Research Defence Advisory Council. Robert Asselin, CEO of U15 Canada said in a press release that the new strategy “makes it clear that leading research universities can help Canada respond [to geopolitical risk] by driving innovation and securing sovereign capabilities here in Canada.” In last fall’s budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to invest five per cent of the gross national product in defence by 2035. That won’t just buy warships and bullets. “A portion of these funds will be used to support the research, development and commercialization of dual-use, civilian-military technologies,” Department of National Defence spokesman Kened Sadiku says. “These include a range of industries, such as aerospace, cybersecurity, quantum and artificial intelligence.” In the Arctic, the term “dual use” is common. Transportation infrastructure like airports serves both the local population and the military. Drones can assist with scientific research and military surveillance. Research into the thawing permafrost, due to climate change, benefits those constructing buildings for local populations and military infrastructure. A consortium called ArcticNet, based at Université Laval, is championing a comprehensive approach to research in the Arctic. Its 176 researchers from 40 Canadian universities include biologists, food security experts, geographers and scientists specializing in the melting of sea ice and glaciers. “Every complex problem needs a diverse range of expertise,” says ArcticNet’s scientific director Philippe Archambault. “Changes to the sea ice have an impact on certain species and the people who hunt them in order to live. This jeopardizes their traditional way of living.” “As researchers, it’s important that we understand the priorities of the people living there and include them in our research.” It’s a point that Lori Idlout, the MP for Nunavut, keeps hammering home in the House of Commons. In January, she told the House: “Parliament must look beyond megaprojects in the South. Decades of chronic under-investment means northerners are in overcrowded housing, with limited health services and aging infrastructure. This reality creates security threats. The Arctic cannot be secure if the people who live there are not.” Members of Land Task Force NUNAKPUT carry a simulated casualty onto a CH-146 Griffon helicopter during Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, on Sept. 3, 2025. (Photo: Master Corporal Antoine Brochu, Canadian Armed Forces Combat Camera) As the bitterly cold wind howls across the Arctic ice, a Canadian Rangers patrol brings its snowmobiles to a halt. With distinctive bright red toques, these reservists act as the military’s eyes and ears in the North. A storm is rolling in, and the Rangers count on their traditional knowledge of the terrain and climate to know when to head home to safe. They are lightly armed with C-19 bolt-action rifles, designed specifically to operate in the extreme cold. The weapons are more likely to be used to ward off marauding polar bears than to fight foreign intruders. Most of the Canadian Rangers in the Arctic are Indigenous. Mobilizing and recruiting people for this work requires that their communities be healthy and economically vibrant. “We have significant human challenges with our population in the North,” says Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at UBC andan expert on Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. The suicide rate in Nunavut is about seven times higher than in southern Canada, according to Statistics Canada research. Tuberculosis, rare in most of the country, is a constant threat due to overcrowded housing and a lack of access to proper medical care. In the North, there are 136 cases of the infectious disease per 100,000 people, Indigenous Services Canada data shows. Dr. Byers argues that improving Arctic living conditions and employment opportunities is essential to Canadian sovereignty. “If we’re spending all our money on military hardware it would be a huge mistake. When the world looks at the Canadian Arctic and sees healthy communities it will recognize that Canada is taking its Arctic sovereignty responsibilities seriously.” He believes Canadian university experts can play a vital role in researching how other Arctic countries, such as Norway and Finland, are strengthening their northern territories. Norway, for example, is already taking a whole-of-society approach to defending its sovereignty. In addition to boosting its military, the country’s new security strategy emphasizes the importance of economic stability, university research, transportation infrastructure and health care. “Many Canadian government bureaucrats spend their time going from meeting to meeting, with very little time to analyze situations in depth. Academics can more deeply research what’s happening in the world and what other nations are doing to solve some of these problems.” Dr. Byers does not think Russia and China have designs on Canada’s Arctic territory. “Russia already owns half of the Arctic so it’s not clear why they would want to provoke a dispute with Canada. China is interested in improving shipping through the Northwest Passage but doesn’t have territorial aspirations in the Arctic.” Yet they remain a potential threat. “Canada is effectively at war with Russia because NATO is supporting Ukraine following the Russian invasion,” he says. The Russians are causing trouble across the Western world through espionage and sabotage. Finland is investigating whether Russian ships are cutting fibre optic communication cables on the bed of the Baltic Sea. “The first line of sovereignty is to be able to see what’s going on,” Dr. Byers asserts. This includes tracking foreign ships and monitoring aircraft. Canada operates three satellites that keep an eye on ships in Canadian Arctic waters. “We have pretty amazing surveillance technologies,” Dr. Byers argues. However, he is concerned that Canada is phasing out ground-based aids to aircraft navigation and relying on satellite GPS. Russia engages in jamming of satellite signals, which could threaten safety and national security. Ground-based tools provide a backup. The medical team of Joint Task Force NUNAKPUT demonstrates how to apply an intravenous line to members of the Military Police during Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, on Sept. 4, 2025. (Photo: Master Corporal Antoine Brochu, Canadian Armed Forces Combat Camera) One of Canada’s key responsibilities in the Arctic is to maintain shipping channels and provide search and rescue. It’s a hostile environment for residents, visiting university researchers and the military. “I’ve lost four colleagues to accidents in the Arctic in the past 15 years,” Dr. Byers says. And climate change, which is more advanced in the Arctic than elsewhere on the planet, poses new challenges. As the ice melts, icebergs known as “growlers” break off and pose a risk to passing ships. Canada will need more icebreakers to clear navigation lanes and for search and rescue. At the University of Alberta (U of A), faculty of engineering researchers are developing special hull coatings for both civilian and military ships. These will help protect vessels as they plow through the Arctic Ocean.; “The coatings help reduce friction, resulting in fuel savings and less environmental impact,” Dr. Xuehua Zhang says. She is one of several scientists working on projects with U of A’s Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-use Technologies, known as CARDD-Tech. The group is also conducting research in robotics, AI, quantum sensors and advanced materials. However, Canada does not have a university based in the Eastern Arctic. This makes it much tougher to tap into local expertise. That is set to change by 2030, when the fledgling Inuit Nunangat University plans to open its main campus in Arviat, Nvt. The only Inuit-led university in Canada, it aspires to eventually expand from the main campus with satellite locations in several communities across Inuit Nunangat — the Inuit homeland — in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik (Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Labrador). Creation of the university is being led by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the organization that represents Canada’s 60,000 Inuit. So far, more than $100 million in financing has come from private donors and from Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the organization charged with implementing the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement under which Nunavut became a Canadian territory in 1999. And in February, the federal government announced a $50 million contribution. Writing in the Hill Times in 2024, ITK president Natan Obed said of the future university: “It will serve as a beacon of Arctic innovation and bolster Canada’s Arctic sovereignty by anchoring expertise and development in the region.” At a press conference in February, Mr. Obed elaborated: “The Inuit of Inuit Nunangat should be carefully considered in Canada’s overarching approach. Military spending and defence spending and building infrastructure that is for Canada’s considerations is one aspect of what we all need to do together. The other, and just as critical, aspect is to build sustainability within our society, to bring Inuit Nunangat into Canada, to be proud of our regions and all of the things that we can offer to this country.” In the fields near Donetsk, Ukraine, winter brings snow and frozen mud, bogging down army vehicles and soldiers patrolling on the front lines. Just walking a few metres is tough. But overhead, drones from both the Russian and Ukrainian armies roam freely, spying on humans below. The proliferation of unmanned aerial systems has caught the attention of Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, who is in charge of Canada’s land forces. “The army we have is not the army we need,” Lt.-Gen Wright told the Walrus magazine in November 2025. “I want to flood our forces with drones to give soldiers hands-on experience.” “This is ultimately where conflicts are headed,” says Christian Leuprecht, a national security expert who teaches at the Royal Military College (RMC) and Queen’s University. “Whether warfare is in the air, on the ground or underwater, drones will play a vital role.” Drone technology is changing every few months. This means that some of the aerial vehicles become quickly outdated. As Canada moves forward, university researchers could play a key part in developing cutting-edge equipment, artificial intelligence and technology. “The challenge is that many university researchers have never done anything with the Department of National Defence,” Dr. Leuprecht says. “The need will be to take civilian research and apply it to defence.” In so doing, Canadian researchers should be more wary, he argues. “Universities are by definition open institutions that are used to sharing and collaborating.” Yet he points to efforts by foreign operatives to steal Canadian technology, citing the 2019 removal of two scientists, with alleged ties to China, from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. “These are not just theoretical dangers. They are very concrete problems.” With the vast distances and extreme cold in the Arctic, Canadian military and university researchers must move beyond tools that are currently available. “A lot of what we require cannot be bought off the shelf. We need made-in-Canada solutions,” Dr. Leuprecht argues. “To be more sovereign, we need to do more here. One advantage is that we have fantastic research universities in this country.” The three strongest research schools – UBC, the University of Toronto and McGill University – are located in major cities with little connection to Canada’s military. “This creates a network problem in which people don’t know where to go to connect with the right resources,” Dr. Leuprecht says. Third-year Royal Military College students work in the Arctic as part of their training. (Photo courtesy: Royal Military College) Researchers at Canada’s two military universities —RMC and Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMC Saint-Jean) in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec — are definitely plugged into defence. They both serve as academic institutions and as training grounds for officers in the Forces. A small school with just 2,000 undergrad and graduate students, RMC is marking its 150th birthday this year. RMC Saint-Jean has 342 students. “We have the highest concentration of university-based defence experts in Canada,” RMC Principal Jill Scott told a Senate of Canada committee last year. “Now is the time to expand and accelerate this work. … A strong defence and security enterprise requires investing in a brain trust and a talent pipeline of defence scientists for the future. …In our current times, research security is paramount.” Professors at RMC are working to solve the huge challenges of transporting both people and goods in the Arctic. It’s not easy. Climate change is melting the permafrost, putting transportation infrastructure like airport runways and railways at risk. As temperatures rise, ice-road trucking faces a shorter season. Taking on the task are Ryley Beddoe, Canada Research Chair in Permafrost Engineering, and Greg Siemens, a professor in the department of civil engineering. They emphasize the importance of dual-use infrastructure, serving both civilian and military purposes. The railway from the south to the port of Churchill, Man., on Hudson Bay is now 100 years old. It is not only showing its age, but climate change is taking its toll, causing sink holes and damaging the tracks. Fixing this is one engineering conundrum that RMC scientists are working on. Another such project is the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway, an all-weather, 138-kilometre-long road through the Northwest Territories connecting Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. Completed less than a decade ago, it’s the first year-round public access road to the Arctic coast. “A big challenge has been that the foundations of highway bridges settle as the permafrost thaws,” Dr. Beddoe says. The solution: A system similar to placing a freezer in the ground to prevent it from thawing, protecting the bridges. It extracts heat from the ground during winter, keeping the surrounding permafrost frozen year around, even during the summer. “Best of all, it requires no energy input to make it work,” Dr. Siemens adds. In addition to their research, the two engineering professors are teaching RMC students and members of the Canadian Armed Forces how to deal with the shifting permafrost and other technical issues. This spring, third-year students head north, where they will contribute to projects and conduct research. “They’re working to understand some of the engineering challenges in the Arctic,” Dr. Siemens says. “As future military officers, they need to be well-versed in how to operate under extreme conditions.” Collaborating with Inuit, First Nations and Métis people in the Arctic on matters of defence, Canadian university researchers can help to solve seemingly intractable problems. Dr. Archambault of ArcticNet believes Canadian scientists should “do a little more flag-waving.” “We need to be proud of being Canadian and respect the people who live there. We can invite people from around the world to our Arctic to show them how we work with Indigenous people to conduct research and improve lives.” The post U the North appeared first on University Affairs .

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