Here’s everything DND expects to start building in Yellowknife

Senior military figures spent Monday lunchtime setting out the basics of their 15-year plan to expand the Canadian Armed Forces’ Yellowknife presence.

The Department of National Defence said on Monday it anticipates spending between $5 billion and $8 billion on a major expansion at Yellowknife Airport alongside a series of related projects.

Those projects are likely to involve helping to pay for power and water upgrades that help both the military and the city.

Some city councillors who received the presentation spoke in glowing terms about the investment that appears headed the city’s way.

“There is a level of excitement around these conversations that I’m seeing, after being here for 30 years, that I haven’t seen since the diamond mines were coming online,” said councillor Steve Payne.

Here’s a guide to what DND said at Monday’s City Hall presentation. A separate public meeting hosted by DND is coming up at the Explorer Hotel on Thursday evening.

What are the main headlines?

We already knew DND anticipated spending roughly $5 billion in and around Yellowknife. The suggestion that could rise to $8 billion is important – a $3-billion swing is a large amount of money.

Construction is set to begin in 2030 and last for 10 years. Most of that will happen on the west side of Yellowknife Airport’s largest runway, where the military already has existing facilities.

The airport runway and taxiways will be expanded with the intention of accommodating new F-35 fighter jets alongside a wide range of military aircraft. There will be new hangars and more military housing.

DND doesn’t know for sure how many people will end up actually relocating to Yellowknife as part of this, saying it’s too early to tell.

The military has a fund that can contribute toward electricity and water upgrades. “We cannot be a burden on the community,” project director George Siket told council. “Part of our plan is to support power grid infrastructure … same way with water and wastewater management.”

An Indigenous participation plan is being drawn up through engagement with Indigenous governments, though its precise detail isn’t finalized yet. A request for proposals for the main contractor to oversee the project will be issued this fall.

What’s the vision?

By 2040, DND wants to have a modernized and expanded forward operating location in Yellowknife.

Yellowknife already is a forward operating location. That means somewhere the Canadian Armed Forces can deploy to in larger numbers when needed, before heading back to larger bases like Cold Lake.

At Monday’s meeting, the example was given of sending fighter jets up to Yellowknife to intercept a perceived Russian threat (or, more likely, a set of Russian manoeuvres near Canadian airspace), then sending them back to their home base afterward.

The Yellowknife upgrades are part of a larger modernization plan for Norad, the defence alliance between Canada and the United States, which was agreed in 2022. Folded into the work is a more recent commitment to make Yellowknife one of Canada’s new northern operational support hubs.

“The last time we spent a lot of money on Norad and on the forward operating locations in the North was in the 80s,” said LCol Matthew Baxter during DND’s presentation on Monday.

“If you think about technology and the state of affairs in 1985, it’s dramatically changed. So we cannot effectively support what we need to do now and what we need to do in the future.”

Much of the work will be upgrading, replacing and adding to the existing military facility at Yellowknife Airport, while upgrading power and water connections and the like.

Baxter said the size of the work will be “generational” in scope.

What will actually get built?

The main runway will be lengthened by an unspecified amount, more taxiways will be added and a larger apron – essentially, aircraft parking space – will be built.

There will be new hangars, designed to accommodate all military aircraft sizes. A munitions area will be needed. Temporary military accommodation for incoming members of the armed forces will expand from a capacity of 200 to about 500.

The introduction of the F-35 fighter jets may also require a new facility in its own right, while there are plans for a new operations control centre, warehousing space and a military medical facility.

What’s the timeline?

Things have only just started happening. Archaeological surveys, environmental studies and geotechnical work are being rolled out.

Officials speaking on Monday said this is the development phase of the project, which will be followed by design work and site preparation.

Construction is likely to be under way by 2030 with a target of 2040 for the work to be finished and the site fully operational.

“We’re not going to be able to build all of this infrastructure quickly,” said Siket. “Everything takes time and it’ll be a progressive rate of build over that time.”

What about local spending?

We don’t know much yet about specific local spending commitments, although there are a few points worth noting if you’re interested in working on the project.

The Indigenous participation plan being drawn up will involve training, employment and subcontracting, but the detail of that is still being worked on. That’s expected to take another year and a half.

Alongside meetings this week, sessions for businesses and industry will be held this fall in Yellowknife – and during June’s Arctic Development Expo in Inuvik – to help prepare for the work ahead.

Councillors raised concerns like the amount of work required to gain security clearance, past projects where local spending didn’t materialize, and the need to figure out housing so the Yellowknife market is not overwhelmed.

Officials said they were trying to learn lessons from other projects and were meeting with federal bosses of the Giant Mine remediation project, for example, to study what had worked well and where challenges may lie ahead.

What else did councillors say?

Tom McLennan asked DND to keep in mind the impact on residents from a runway extension, pointing out the flight path would mean potentially larger, louder aircraft coming in at a lower altitude over Kam Lake.

Ryan Fequet asked if the site’s growing power needs would mean relying on the South Slave’s Taltson hydro plant, given the NWT government’s eagerness to complete a project that would connect Taltson to the Yellowknife region. Officials were noncommittal on that front.

Fequet also pressed for more about collaboration with Indigenous governments, and was told meetings with Indigenous groups are ongoing and considered a priority.

Noting her children are in the cadet program, Stacie Arden Smith expressed hope that the increased military presence would open up more opportunities for youth.

Payne asked how many people might ultimately move to Yellowknife because of that larger presence.

“There will be an increase in personnel over time,” Baxter replied, “but I do not know what those numbers are as of yet.”