ArcticNet funding renewed for 5 years

Québec, April 16, 2019 – On Tuesday, funding for ArcticNet was renewed at a level of$32,475,000 over five years. This extension will provide an opportunity for the Network to develop beyond the Networks of Centres of Excellence program and morph into a perennial pan-Canadian research powerhouse that will match the research effort of any other nation in the Arctic.

«Starting in 2004, ArcticNet has brought together Canada's best expertise in the natural, social, and health sciences to bring Canada as the leader in Arctic research. With the help of Inuit, private sector and public sector partners, the Network has mobilized scientific and local knowledge to inform adaptation to climate change and modernization in the North.

«From engineering solutions to stabilize the runway of Iqaluit airport to health programs in Nunavik, from assessing the risk of drilling for oil in the Beaufort Sea to helping define the border between Canada and Greenland in Nares Strait, we have inventoried no less than 130 instances in which the knowledge created by ArcticNet and its partners has informed decision, action, and policy in the North,» said Professor Philippe Archambault, ArcticNet's scientific co-director at Université Laval.

Over the next 5 years, ArcticNet will focus on two major research axes: informing the sustainable development of the Canadian Arctic Blue Economy (shipping, fisheries, tourism, and mining), and building postsecondary research and training capacity through our new North-by-North initiative,» said Professor Jackie Dawson, ArcticNet's scientific co-director at the University of Ottawa.

Recent scientific research paints a picture of stagnating economic and social development in the Canadian North, and as they move towards self-governance, Northern communities face critical health, education and economic challenges.

«This is why ArcticNet must continue to inform the development of Canada's North,» said Professor Louis Fortier, ArcticNet's scientific director. «Canada must address many pressing strategic issues related to the greening of its economy, including the sustainable socio-economic development of its northern communities, territories and seas.»

Hosted by Université Laval, ArcticNet is the first and only Network of Centres of Excellence funded beyond the former 14-year limit for the duration of NCE support.