The Northwest Passage: The emerging issue in Canadian-American relations, 1939-1963

Sovereignty claims over the Northwest Passage and its implications in Canadian-American relations have assumed particular importance in the twentieth century. The 1939-1963 period highlights the tension between the Canadian perception of Canadian sovereignty versus Canadian defense, and the United States' perception of Canadian sovereignty versus continental defense. The Canadian government's traditionally reactive policy with regard to its North, and its inconsistent and nebulous claims to the region have been stimulated by American plans in Canada's Arctic and the perceived threat to sovereignty that these designs represented. While Canadian land claims have not been seriously challenged since the early 1930s the same cannot be said of Canadian water claims, especially in the Northwest Passage, and the issue is most contentious with the United States.; Parallel and equal in importance are the public and governmental attitudes toward American and bilateral projects in the Canadian Arctic. These attitudes in Canada and the United States reflect both a difference of national priorities and sovereignty sensitivities. At times the diplomatic and military goals of the United States and Canada have been sufficiently homogeneous as to foster cooperation and collaboration. At other times, conflicting interests have fostered competition and discord and have necessitated ever-delicate diplomatic resolution. Documentation and interpretation of both the rational and emotional issue of the Northwest Passage in Canadian-American relations as it developed in the 1939-1963 period must be examined to understand both the history of the issue of the Northwest Passage and its present state of affairs. Sovereignty over the Passage reflects both the gains in cooperative measures in the Canadian North and the contentious issues that remain. As a case study, this necessitates the study of the historical perceptions of the North, Canadian foreign policy, World War II and post-war joint military cooperation, and the Law of the Sea conferences. The record groups at both the National Archives and the National Archives of Canada have yielded important unpublished material that highlights the personalities and processes of cooperation, and interviews of Canadian politicians and civil servants have been made as both governments have denied access to some closed sovereignty files.