Ottawa to appoint Virginia Mearns of Iqaluit as Arctic ambassador

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to reporters before attending a meeting of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, in Inuvik, N.W.T., on Thursday, July 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada’s new Arctic ambassador will play a key role in preserving sovereignty in the region as the military closely watches the movements of a Chinese icebreaker.

Iqaluit resident Virginia Mearns will be Canada’s senior Arctic official on the world stage, following a career with local Inuit governments.

“Canada’s Arctic ambassador is going to advance Canada’s polar interests in multilateral forums,” Anand told The Canadian Press in an interview from Inuvik, N.W.T.

She said Mearns will “engage with counterparts in both Arctic and non-Arctic states” and “serve as a representative in our diplomatic core.”

Anand said Canada will follow through on its $35 million Arctic foreign policy and its commitment to open new consulates in both Alaska and Greenland, despite the government’s announcement of cuts to the foreign service to fund a boost in military spending.

She said she plans to visit Greenland to open the consulate “in due course.”

Anand said both consulates will be “very useful” as they are integrated into the Arctic policy.

“This is a full-court press in terms of ensuring that we are doing whatever it takes to defend Canadian sovereignty,” she said of the Arctic policy.

Mearns’ appointment coincided with a major meeting Thursday between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Inuit leaders to discuss his government’s controversial major-projects legislation.

Anand said she attended the meeting in the Northwest Territories because the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee touches on many themes that apply to both Canada’s foreign and domestic agendas.

But her visit also comes as the Canadian military closely observes Chinese icebreaker Xue Long 2 as it gathers information north of Alaska.

Anand said that in her former role as defence minister, she was “very concerned about the potential for threats in Arctic waters” and had the Canadian Armed Forces intensify its efforts “to detect, deter and defend against instances such as Chinese vessels near Canada’s Arctic waters.”

She said the military “is actively monitoring the dual-purpose Chinese research vessel,” which she said was not “in Canadian territorial waters” as of Thursday afternoon.

“The Canadian Armed Forces will continue to actively monitor the vessel, and ensure that Canadian sovereignty is protected at every turn,” she added.

2nd Lt. Cammeron Radford, public affairs officer for the Canadian Forces Joint Operations Command, told The Canadian Press in an email the vessel can be live-tracked on numerous websites.

“The Canadian Joint Operations Command is actively monitoring the vessel Xue Long 2 with a CP-140 Aurora aircraft, based out of Alaska,” he wrote Thursday afternoon.

“Competitors are exploring Arctic waters and the sea floor, probing our infrastructure, and collecting intelligence using dual-purpose research vessels and surveillance platforms. The CAF will continue to actively monitor the Xue Long 2 so long as it continues to operate near Canadian territorial waters.”

Canada’s Arctic foreign policy document, released last December, noted that Beijing sends research vessels into the Arctic, though it described some of China’s forays as “dual-use,” with both research and military applications.

Mearns declined to give an interview when The Canadian Press called her Thursday but she said she would be open to speaking at a later date.

Her appointment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly called for Canada to become a U.S. state and floated the idea of annexing Greenland.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents the interests of Inuit in Canada, has voiced concerns about another wave of militarization of their territories like the one during the Cold War.

Those decades of militarization in the Arctic led to forced relocations of Inuit communities, the loss of property and disruptions to traditional ways of life.

ITK has said that Inuit want to help defend Canada against foreign threats but in a way that respects local realities. The group has been in touch with Inuit counterparts in Greenland and Alaska about recent events.

Natan Obed, president of ITK, said he’s “very pleased” with the government’s decision to name Mearns as Canada’s new Arctic ambassador.

Obed said Mearns’ name was among those floated to take on the role, though a “full-scale co-developed process” with the government was interrupted by the federal election.

Obed said Mearns will be an “incredible contributor in diplomacy at this point in time for Canada.”

“And she’s an Inuk from Nunavut so also will bring that Inuit perspective to any room that she’s in, whether here in Canada or abroad,” Obed said.

Anand said Ottawa is very aware of its legacy in the region and wants to build better partnerships.

“The work that the government of Canada is doing now is absolutely essential to ensuring that Canadian sovereignty, and the defence of our Arctic, is fulfilled at the highest level. And that work specifically includes the partnership with Indigenous peoples,” she said.

“The relationship with Indigenous peoples is not only important but also absolutely necessary. And I have learned that they are dedicated, kind and willing partners with whom we will continue to collaborate.”

The government’s Arctic policy calls for tighter security co-ordination to counteract the closer ties between Beijing and Moscow, and for collaboration on scientific research in the region.

The policy document says the North American Arctic is “no longer free from tension” because of the rise in geopolitical instability following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has “shaken the foundations of international co-operation in the Arctic.”

Ottawa appointed Mary Simon, now governor general, as its first ambassador for circumpolar affairs in 1994. She held the post for a decade.

Jack Anawak then held the role until 2006, at which point the Harper government discontinued the post.

With files from Alessia Passafiume and Aaron Sousa in Inuvik

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press