Strategic Assets in Uncertain Times: Unlocking Energy and Resources in Canada’s North

Canada has lost its edge in northern development and research. The North's resources have important strategic and economic implications for Canada, and their development - done in the right way - has huge potential benefits for all Canadians now and into the future.

In Strategic Assets in Uncertain Times: Unlocking Energy and Resources in Canada’s North, Dr. Nick Poushinsky and Pierre Alvarez argue that the Arctic has long been held by Canadians as a defining element of our country, secure in the belief that others had little or no interest in the vast, inaccessible landscape north of 60. Recently, the impacts of climate change, aggressive foreign policy and resource development initiatives by a growing number of nations—and the lack of a comprehensive Canadian Arctic policy framework—are challenging that view. The development of Canada’s northern resources has important strategic and economic implications for Canada, and that development—done in the right way—has the potential to greatly benefit Canadians now and in the future. 

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About the Authors

Dr. Nick Poushinsky and Pierre Alvarez

Dr. Nick Poushinsky, recently retired from Stantec, has blended three foci into one career. Academic posts at Rutgers University, Dalhousie University and the University of Victoria and adjunct teaching at Yukon College; Government service in various western Provinces culminating with service at the Deputy Minister level in the Yukon; and a business career in the mining business and in environmental consulting. Nick is now providing volunteer consulting support to indigenous people in the north and enjoying the opportunity to think about issues of importance to us all.

Pierre Alvarez is Vice Chair of Global Public Affairs in Calgary, providing strategic counsel to corporate clients in the areas of business risk and  project development. He is a seasoned energy executive with over thirty-five years of senior management experience in the Canadian oil, natural gas, pipeline and electricity sectors. He has been directly involved in many of the most significant policy and project developments in the North American resource field through his roles as a senior executive at Kinder Morgan Canada (Trans Mountain),  Nexen Inc (CNOOC), President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Chairman and CEO of the NWT Power Corporation and  Deputy Minister to the Premier of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife.