Canada took steps under Stephen Harper to remove NATO’s role in the Arctic. In 2009, Canada vowed to veto any NATO council action in the Arctic as Canada believed that NATO may force it to settle disputes in the Arctic over issues such as with the USA on the status of the NWP and Beaufort Sea boundary and with Denmark on Hans Island. 370 This action clearly showed Canada as intent on being a strong force in the Arctic and although not seeking conflict, it did not rule out the possibility of conflict by not allowing NATO to act in the region to unify its strategy in the region between member states. Canada’s Northern Strategy in 2009 showed Canada’s aggressive Arctic policy, the document outlined Stephen Harper’s commitment when he became Prime Minister in 2006 to increase Arctic patrols, both on land and at sea, and to assert Canada’s presence in the North. 371 Under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada promoted a popularized, militaristic approach. 372 Harper advocated an approach that would involve more surveillance in the region and an increase in troops. 373 374 However, Nicol viewed Harper’s approach as erroneous, and it is one that is appropriate due to Harpers’ view of how to act in the region. Harper saw the Arctic as a region where he had the motto ‘use or will lose’. 375 However, the Arctic is not an environment that is traditional or predictable, therefore conventional military methods of protecting a region is not the answer to defending the potential problems that Canada may face in the 370 Helga Haftendorn, ‘NATO and the Arctic: is the Atlantic alliance a cold war relic in a peaceful region now faced with non-military challenges?’, European Security , 20.3 (2011), 337-361 (p.349). 371 Offerdal, p.75. 372 Nicol, p.100.
373 Ibid. 374 Ibid. 375 Haftendorn, p.341.
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