Follow Canada Immigration and Canada News: On December 6, Canada will submit a sovereignty application for the Arctic seabed continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, covering an area of approximately 1.7 million square kilometers.
According to reports from Canadian television, Canada has been preparing for this step for 10 years, investing 200 million Canadian dollars in research. Rob Huebert, an expert on Arctic issues in Canada, stated that due to the Lomonosov Ridge extending northward from Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, "Canada's sovereignty claim has ample geological basis; not to mention the North Pole, even further areas are not a problem." The issue is that other countries have also made similar claims; Russia's application submitted in 2002 also included the North Pole but was asked to provide more evidence. Russia demonstrated its claim in action— in 2007, a Russian deep-sea submersible descended from the North Pole and planted a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed. Additionally, Denmark also submitted a sovereignty application for the Arctic seabed last week, which similarly includes the North Pole.
The Arctic seabed is believed to contain over a quarter of the world's undiscovered energy resources, primarily concentrated near the Lomonosov Ridge. This is why Russia, Canada, and Denmark are vying for it, and the United States is no exception. Experts predict that this competition will last at least 5 years, and possibly up to 20 years before any clarity emerges. Moreover, due to harsh conditions, commercial resource development in this area remains a distant prospect.
The Globe and Mail believes that Canada's application deadline is December 6. Since Harper took office, he has been proactive in Arctic affairs and has spared no effort in competing for seabed rights and resources. The Canadian Press states that the Arctic seabed is a place far less familiar to humans on Earth than the surface of the Moon, and scientific investigations of this seabed require helicopters, planes, remotely operated submarines, dozens of icebreakers, and substantial human, material, and financial resources.
