By Erin Weir

Donald Trump has suggested he might like to take over Canada and Greenland. While we’re re-imagining the geography of the Western Hemisphere, why not consider the advantages, both for it and for us, of Greenland joining Canada?

Canada and Greenland are Arctic neighbours, and in fact already share a small land border on Hans Island — which would be even less in dispute if it became a territorial boundary. We also share significant cultural connections. Greenland’s population is overwhelmingly Inuit, while Canada is home to the world’s largest Inuit population. Both Inuit populations are several times larger than Alaska’s or, for that matter, Denmark’s.

Greenland aims to develop its economy through mining. The United States is an economic superpower, of course, but in mining Canadian companies are the world leaders and, for obvious reasons, have extensive experience building and operating Arctic mines.

Though Greenland’s prime minister wants his country to be independent, it relies on Denmark for fiscal support. The Americans could afford such support, but just how Greenland might fit into the U.S. is far from clear. Would it get statehood? That seems unlikely, given its population of just below 60,000, barely a tenth that of Wyoming, currently the least populous state. The U.S. territories without statehood are the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and a handful of small tropical islands. Neither governance model seems likely to appeal to Greenlanders.

By contrast, Canada has political institutions that meet the unique needs of large Arctic territories. For decades, our federal government has devolved greater authority to territorial governments and provided Territorial Formula Financing (TTF) to cover the costs of delivering essential public services in remote northern areas.

Since 1982, Canada’s constitution has specifically recognized Inuit aboriginal rights. In 1999, Nunavut was established to provide an Inuit homeland. At two million square kilometres, Greenland is almost exactly the same size as Nunavut. Greenland’s population is larger than any single Canadian territory’s but smaller than any two combined. Greenland could easily fit into Confederation as a fourth territory.

Territorial funding currently costs $5 billion a year — less than one per cent of the federal budget. Denmark provides Greenland with an annual block grant of just under the equivalent of $1 billion. Incorporating Greenland into TFF almost certainly would provide more support than Denmark’s block grant currently does but with minimal impact on Canada’s federal budget.

In addition to having a population and economy six times larger than Denmark’s, Canada is much closer to Greenland than Denmark is. Denmark must maintain completely separate infrastructure for Greenland and the U.S. would have the same problem. But existing ports, airfields and other facilities in Newfoundland & Labrador and Nunavut could help to serve Greenland and vice versa.

Right now, the competitive division of fishing, resource and shipping rights in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea between Canada and Greenland is an obstacle to both economic development and environmental protection. Unifying Canada and Greenland would allow a more coherent approach to sustainable development in the Arctic.

Trump argues that the U.S. needs Greenland for aerospace security. But Canada and the U.S. jointly comprise the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Greenland joining Confederation would fully integrate it into the NORAD defences, which stretch across Canada’s existing Arctic territories.

Confederation arose when Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia banded together in the face of tariffs and other threats from the U.S. The most recent addition was Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949 to fully access Canada’s nearby economy, infrastructure and public services. In the face of renewed threats from south of the border, we should extend the same opportunity to Greenland.

Erin Weir, a consulting economist, was an MP from 2015 to 2019.

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