Canada’s Pacific Gateway to the Arctic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.916Keywords:
Pacific Gateway, Western Arctic, exploration, economic development, technological innovation, defence and securityAbstract
Pacific Gateway is a term that evokes the “All Red Route” of fashionable and elegant travel by Canadian Pacific Railway steamers or, less historically, global shipping patterns that have enabled Prince Rupert to post record growth as Canada’s third largest port. But the Pacific Northwest is also notably associated with “White Routes” – forays into polar waters that reflected accessibility and opportunity and that contradicted common notions of Arctic approaches. This article will explore the history of these western approaches, examining European explorers, economic and technological innovations, the impact of climate change, and current geopolitical developments that ensure Canada’s Pacific Gateway will remain significantly northern, as well as westwards, focused.
Porte d’entrée du Pacifique est un terme qui évoque la « All Red Route » des voyages élégants et à la mode des bateaux à vapeur du chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique ou, d’un point de vue moins historique, les trajets d’expédition à l’échelle mondiale qui ont permis à Prince Rupert d’afficher une croissance record comme troisième plus grand port du Canada. Mais le Nord-Ouest du Pacifique est aussi particulièrement associé aux « routes blanches », les incursions en eaux polaires qui soulignaient l’accessibilité et les possibilités et qui contredisaient les notions communes d’approches arctiques. Cet article examine l’histoire de ces approches occidentales, notamment les explorateurs européens, les innovations économiques et technologiques, les repercussions des changements climatiques et les évolutions géopolitiques actuelles qui font en sorte que la porte d’entrée Canadienne du Pacifique restera considérablement axée sur le Nord et sur l’Ouest.
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