From Far and Wide: A Complete History of Canada's Arctic Sovereignty

Is the Canadian North a state of mind or simply the lands and waters above the 60th parallel? In searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition in the 19th century, Britain's Royal Navy mapped and charted most of the Arctic Archipelago. In 1874 Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie agreed to take up sovereignty of all the Arctic, if only to keep the United States and Tsarist Russia out. But as the dominion expanded east and west, the North was forgotten. Besides a few industries, its potential was unknown. It was as one Canadian said for later.

There wasn't much need to send police or military expeditions to the North. Not only was there little tribal warfare between the Inuit or First Nations, but there were few white settlers to protect and the forts were mainly trading posts. Thus, in the early 20th century, Canada's Arctic was less known than Sudan or South Africa.

From Far and Wide recounts exclusively the historic activities of the Canadian military in Canada's North.

Contents

introduction 9

1 British obsession 15

2 All that glitters 54

3 exploration and Aircraft 104

4 Sovereignty and Mackenzie King 134

5 Dew Line and Diefenbaker 181

6 on guard for thee 237

Notes 289

Bibliography 299

index 301