The Liberal government has unveiled a detailed, multibillion-dollar proposal to modernize and expand Canada’s military footprint in the country’s Far North.

The comprehensive $35-billion plan, which also includes improvements to civilian infrastructure, is expected to see northern base upgrades, including runway improvements and expansions, as well as hangar and road construction, in a number of locations across the Arctic.

Most of the investment — approximately $32 billion — is being drawn from a pool of money set aside almost four years ago by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government to modernize NORAD, the binational North American air defence command shared with the United States.

That plan was originally pegged at $38 billion in 2022 and Thursday’s announcement in Yellowknife almost certainly means that figure will be revised upward.

Senior government officials, however, speaking on background during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s flight to Yellowknife, wouldn’t say how much more will be needed.

Northern infrastructure improvements at four forward operating locations in Canada’s North (Inuvik, N.W.T., Yellowknife, Iqaluit, and Goose Bay, N.L.) were part of the original announcement made by former defence minister Anita Anand. Improvements in each location are necessary in order for them to host the air force’s new F-35 stealth fighters. 

Other items on the modernization list and already in the planning or purchasing stages include the recently announced Arctic over-the-horizon radar ($6.7 billion for phase one); the acquisition of new air-to-air refuelling planes and the purchase of short-, medium- and long-range air-to-air missiles; along with other command and communications upgrades.

The announcement at the Canadian military’s joint northern headquarters in Yellowknife lays out the details of the long-planned infrastructure investments only and expands upon the original four-base concept.

Carney said two additional operational support hubs — where the military can store equipment and ammunition as well as stage troops — will be created in Whitehorse and Resolute, Nunavut. 

Another two operational support nodes — smaller bases and fuelling stations — will be established in Nunavut’s Cambridge Bay and Rankin Inlet.

The network of bases will enable the Canadian military to deploy rapidly and support year-round response across the North, no matter how remote.

Carney described attempts by previous governments — Liberal and Conservative — to secure the Arctic as “piecemeal investments” and his government is setting ambitious targets.

WATCH | Mackenzie Valley Highway project going to Major Projects Office:

Carney government referring Mackenzie Valley Highway to Major Projects Office

Speaking in Yellowknife, Prime Minister Mark Carney said construction will start this summer on the first phase of an all-season highway stretching more than 800 kilometres in the Northwest Territories.

“We are securing every corner of this terrain, unlocking its vast resources and delivering the strong, connected network of communities that northerners deserve,” Carney said in his statement.

“In this new era, we cannot rely on other nations for our security and prosperity. We are defending and building together, the True North, strong and free.”

In keeping with Carney’s emphasis on leveraging defence spending to boost the economy and investment, the package announced Thursday contains a series of civilian airport improvements — Rankin Inlet and Inuvik — and major road construction projects that will have to be approved by the Liberal government’s Major Projects Office.

The roadwork includes a further extension of the Mackenzie Highway, connecting Yellowknife to Inuvik with the intention of opening up commercial opportunities along the route. In addition, the federal government plans on developing the Grays Bay road and port in order to connect it to the national highway system.

When completed, the government said, the 227-kilometre, all-season road will become Canada’s first overland connection to a deepwater port on the Arctic Ocean and help smooth the movement of strategic minerals to market.