Yellowknife formalizes support of Arctic Security Corridor

Yellowknife councillors have passed a resolution formalizing the city’s support of an Arctic Security Corridor stretching northeast to Nunavut and the Arctic coast. 

Councillors made their decision on Monday following a presentation from Caroline Wawzonek, the NWT’s minister responsible for major infrastructure builds, and her team.

Proponents say the project aims at strengthening Canadian Arctic sovereignty and security by building a 600-km all-season road from Yellowknife to Nunavut’s Grays Bay and upgrading the port of Grays Bay.

For part of the way, the road could follow the route of the winter road that currently connections Yellowknife to three nearby operational diamond mines.

If the project goes ahead, Wawzonek argues it could be a big economic driver for the NWT and Canada, providing jobs and revenue.

On Monday, multiple councillors and city staff said supporting the NWT economy was of particular interest to them following the announced closure of the Diavik diamond mine, which is expected to end commercial operation in early 2026.

Yellowknife city manager Stephen Van Dine said the closure of NWT diamond mines over the next few years, one of them “imminent,” will have “an impact on the money coming into the city, people that live in the city, and services provided in the city.”

Van Dine expressed his support for the advancement of the Arctic Security Corridor.

“Yellowknife has been a service hub for exploration and development as long as it’s been a community,” said Van Dine. “That it is an important part of our local economy, and we’re looking to make sure that that part of the economy has a chance to grow.”

The resolution passed by council describes Yellowknife as “a gateway to resource development to the Northwest Territories as a whole, and both the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions of Nunavut.”

The city “supports Canada’s selection of the Arctic Security Corridor as a project of National significance,” the resolution states, pledging to “work collaboratively with all other governments to maximize benefits for all peoples of the Northwest Territories specifically and Canada broadly and make joint investments that ensure Canadian Arctic sovereignty and prosperity.”

What form any municipal investment might take was not clear.

‘Important to take political positions’

Councillor Steve Payne said the project could provide some optimism in the face of the NWT’s economic uncertainty.

“In the last while, people have been walking around with their heads down or thinking about the end of diamond mines,” Payne told Wawzonek and her colleagues during Monday’s meeting.

“But I’m actually getting a little bit of optimism from you guys when it comes to what’s on the horizon up here for resource development. I’m hoping that the public is going to start seeing this as well, because I believe we need some positive news up here to get people back to where we once were.”

Seth Bohnet, the GNWT’s director of strategic infrastructure, asserted the project’s potential to be a “key enabler for Arctic and Canadian sovereignty, for critical resource exploration and development across the NWT and Canada.”

The Slave geological province “has world-class mineral potential,” said Bohnet, referring to the diamond mining area northeast of Yellowknife through which the corridor would pass if built.

“It is, and continues to be important for the GNWT gross domestic product. There is also high potential for additional exploration and development.”

Bohnet said the GNWT was talking to the likes of the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation about possible partnerships and how the project might be governed and owned.

The federal government has expressed interest in the project and developing infrastructure of this scale. In March, for example, Prime Minister Mark Carney stated his intention to expand northern presence.

“We will strengthen Arctic security, bolster our partnerships with our closest allies, and build the North’s economic potential and advance reconciliation with Inuit, First Nations and Métis.” said Carney during a press conference in Nunavut.

However, Ottawa has yet to provide funding to a level that would allow construction to begin.

Mayor Ben Hendriksen, announcing the council’s resolution, called on the federal government to “recognize Yellowknife as a place for DND [the Department of National Defence] investment.”

“It’s important as a council to take political statements and positions on things that matter to us as a council and matter to our city,” said Hendriksen.