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Topic spans: 1959 - 2006
Breaking the Ice: Canada and the Northwest Passage
It's been called "the Arctic Grail." For centuries, European explorers were obsessed with the quest for a route around North America to the Orient. Norway's Roald Amundsen finally conquered the Northwest Passage in 1906. But long Arctic winters meant the route couldn't be exploited commercially. Global warming could change all that by melting the ice and making the passage a key shipping route. But as this happens, the controversial question of sovereignty becomes increasingly important. Does the Northwest Passage belong to Canada or the world?
Cover photo: Navigating the Northwest Passage 1990 courtesy Clark Stede
10 television clips
11 radio clips
The Polar Sea controversy
Broadcast Date: July 29, 1985
A storm of controversy is brewing in the Northwest Passage. An American ship called the Polar Sea is preparing to embark on a trip across the passage. This in itself isn't a problem for Canada. The problem is "that they have ignored our sovereignty claims and have not asked our permission," explains CBC journalist Whit Fraser in this 1985 TV clip. The U.S. says it doesn't need permission because the Northwest Passage is an international waterway. Canada disagrees, and the voyage is quickly on its way to becoming "an emotional, nationalistic issue."The Polar Sea controversy
• The Polar Sea did end up sailing across the passage without ever asking Canada's permission.• Franklyn Griffiths' 1987 book Politics of the Northwest Passage offers a philosophical view on why Canadians feel so strongly the sovereignty issue: "The outpouring of public concern over the Manhattan voyages of 1967-70, and over the transit of Polar Sea in 1985… suggests that latent attachments to the Passage and to the Arctic Spaces it represents are lodged deep in Canadians' conceptions of themselves as a people."
• As a result of the 1985 controversy, in 1988 Canada and the U.S. signed the Arctic Co-operation Agreement. This essentially said the U.S. would seek Canada's consent before sending ships across the passage, and Canada would always grant consent. The U.S. still maintained, however, that the Northwest Passage is an international waterway.
The Polar Sea controversy
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: July 29, 1985
Guest(s): Peter Burnet, David Crombie, Donat Pharand
Reporter: Whit Fraser
Duration: 2:39
Last updated:
March 10, 2008
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The Polar Sea controversy.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 10, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 9, 2010.]