Understand and take action in a changing North

Climate change, industrialization, and modernization are driving rapid and unprecedented transformations in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. In Canada’s Far North and northern Québec, these changes are affecting the lifestyle, health, well-being, and economy of the largely Indigenous local populations. These major disruptions in the North also have global impacts beyond our borders: the rapid thawing of the permafrost is releasing powerful gases that contribute to global warming; the melting of the Arctic ice pack is affecting the global climate, the productivity of the frozen seas, ocean circulation, and international shipping lanes; and glacial melt is causing rising sea levels in some of the most populated coastal areas on the planet.  

To equip government decisionmakers in both North and South, we must keep studying the changing North and the impact of these changes on all levels. Developing projects that are designed and managed in close collaboration with northern communities and partners is the best way to address their priorities, which include public health, food security, access to drinking water, changes in lifestyle, education adapted to their needs, promotion of their cultures and languages, the economy, and the impact of climate change. 

To address the current and future challenges facing the North, we must monitor the northern environment’s transformation in its entirety, from microbiomes to ecosystems, by encouraging national and international collaboration, sharing expertise, conducting transformative research, deploying new technologies, and training young researchers.