With Trump setting his sights on Greenland, Nunavut's MP says people 'need to be reassured'

OTTAWA — The member of Parliament representing Canada’s northernmost territory says ever since U.S. President Donald Trump began escalating his desire to control Greenland, constituents have been reaching out, concerned. 

Lori Idlout, speaking from Rankin Inlet, located on the western coast of Hudson’s Bay, where the federal NDP held its caucus retreat this week, recalls a phone call from one man seeking reassurances living in Grise Fiord, a community of around 144 on Nunavut’s Ellesmere Island. 

“He reminded me, for example, that the flight between Grise Fiord and another community in Greenland is only an hour and a half,” the Nunavut MP told National Post.

Not just that, the parliamentarian says, she was reminded of the relationships that exist between Inuit families in Nunavut and those in Greenland. Like Nunavut, which has a population of around 33,000, Inuit in Greenland make up the majority of its estimated population of 56,000.

“Inuit in (Nunavut) need to be reassured that they will be protected and that they will have some role in that engagement,” she said.

Trump outlined his desire to have U.S. control over the Greenland in an address this week at the World Economic Forum, while ruling out the possibility of using of force. That came after European countries such as Norway, Germany and Sweden deployed some personnel to the Arctic territory, which is part of Denmark, following days of escalated rhetoric coming from the U.S. president.

A meeting between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Davos later led the U.S. president to announce “a framework for a future deal” that appeared to be more about bolstering NATO and American security capacity on Greenland and less about outright seizing the territory, a significant climbdown for Trump. 

Idlout, who has represented Nunavut since 2021, estimates she has heard from between 20 to 30 constituents since Trump began to set his sights on the territory. She says it has been difficult to know how seriously to take the president.

“He changes his mind so frequently, he’s incoherent a lot of the times.”

Trump’s actions underscore the need for more diversification, Idlout said. More than that, she points to how the successive federal governments have “been failing the Arctic for far too long.”

Idlout has not been the only leader to express concern.

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which advocates for the Inuit in Canada, recently told The Canadian Press that the federal government ought to step up, saying that the Inuit had largely been left out of discussions about bolstering Canada’s sovereignty. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Governor General Mary Simon are set to visit Greenland to open Canada’s consulate in its capital of Nuuk in the coming weeks.

Carney, in his own speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, voiced his commitment to Arctic sovereignty by emphasizing that Canada supports Greenland and Denmark in over the territory.

Applause for the prime minister’s speech has been heard both domestically and internationally, with political leaders in Australia and Mexico voicing praise. Idlout said Carney’s government must “now match the big words” the prime minister expressed.

She says securing the Arctic includes investing in infrastructure and “investing in the people,” within the territory so those who call it home can help with that mission, tackling long-standing issues such as housing shortages, overcrowding and poverty.

When it comes to the military, which Carney has earmarked tens of billions of dollars more on to help meet its NATO spending commitments and bolster the capacity of the Canadian Armed Forces, Idlout said telecommunications across the territory “is sorely needed.”

She also emphasized the need for any future military efforts to work closely with existing search and rescue teams as well as the Canadian Rangers, responsible for patrolling the country’s northern territories and northern British Columbia.

They are the ones with expertise in the land and marine environment, the MP said.

Idlout recalled one example of a Canadian Ranger who observed some changes in marine wildlife, which he suspected could be be tied to the presence of a submarine.

The MP said she has not spoken to Carney about the issue of Arctic security, but says she has raised the matter with Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs Rebecca Chartrand, underlining the need for investments and services.

Besides calls about Trump and his rhetoric about Greenland, Idlout said another issue that still comes up is the potential of her crossing the floor to join the minority Liberals.

When that happens, Idlout says, she tells constituents that as an opposition MP she is able to use her voice to push for better housing conditions and supports. Plus, she says, the Liberals hold seats across the other two territories, and in Northern Quebec, which she suggests has made no difference when it comes to improving life in the North.

Idlout says that, should she join the Liberals, she would be joining a government that advances laws like Bill C-5, legislation that ushered in a new process for the building of major infrastructure projects, which Idlout says “disrespected” Indigenous rights.

Carney has promised that Indigenous-rights holders would be consulted.

Asked if that means her answer is no, Idlout suggests her mind is made.

“I’m pretty sure it’s obvious in my response.”

With a file from The Canadian Press

National Post

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