"I can see now a vision emerging how Canada is going to profit in the future from our Arctic resources without destroying the environment on which it is all based"
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Mulroney evokes a pragmatic ideal: prosperity drawn from the North that does not consume the very ecological foundation that makes prosperity possible. The Arctic holds oil, gas, minerals, fisheries, and shipping routes that tempt quick exploitation, yet its ecosystems are sparse, slow to recover, and central to Indigenous cultures and livelihoods. By saying profit must not destroy the environment on which it is all based, he points to a deeper calculus: the Arctic economy, national sovereignty, and social well-being ultimately rest on intact land, sea, and ice.
The context is a late 1980s and early 1990s shift toward sustainable development. Canada was asserting Arctic sovereignty while forging new environmental norms, from the declaration of straight baselines around the archipelago to agreements with the United States on Arctic cooperation. Mulroney backed international environmental leadership and helped launch regional frameworks that later culminated in the Arctic Council, where protection and development would be negotiated together. At home, the emerging vision paired regulation and assessment with investment and partnership, including co-management regimes and landmark land claims. The 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, for example, embedded Indigenous authority and environmental review in decisions about resource use, linking benefits to stewardship.
The line also registers the tension at the heart of northern policy. Extraction can deliver jobs, revenue, and infrastructure, but a spill, a ruptured permafrost road, or a collapsed caribou herd can erase value for generations. Markets are volatile; ecological damage can be permanent. Mulroney reframes restraint as economic realism: the surest path to long-term profit is safeguarding the natural systems and rights that make development legitimate and resilient.
It is a Conservative case for sustainability, not as moral adornment but as strategy. Aspirational and conditional at once, the vision invites Canada to lead by proving that rigorous safeguards, Indigenous partnership, and patient, science-guided governance can turn Arctic wealth into enduring national gain.
The context is a late 1980s and early 1990s shift toward sustainable development. Canada was asserting Arctic sovereignty while forging new environmental norms, from the declaration of straight baselines around the archipelago to agreements with the United States on Arctic cooperation. Mulroney backed international environmental leadership and helped launch regional frameworks that later culminated in the Arctic Council, where protection and development would be negotiated together. At home, the emerging vision paired regulation and assessment with investment and partnership, including co-management regimes and landmark land claims. The 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, for example, embedded Indigenous authority and environmental review in decisions about resource use, linking benefits to stewardship.
The line also registers the tension at the heart of northern policy. Extraction can deliver jobs, revenue, and infrastructure, but a spill, a ruptured permafrost road, or a collapsed caribou herd can erase value for generations. Markets are volatile; ecological damage can be permanent. Mulroney reframes restraint as economic realism: the surest path to long-term profit is safeguarding the natural systems and rights that make development legitimate and resilient.
It is a Conservative case for sustainability, not as moral adornment but as strategy. Aspirational and conditional at once, the vision invites Canada to lead by proving that rigorous safeguards, Indigenous partnership, and patient, science-guided governance can turn Arctic wealth into enduring national gain.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
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