2020
Published June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the worst economic downturn to hit Canada in decades. Our latest national forecast calls for the Canadian economy to contract by a staggering 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2020. And Canada’s Northern territories have not been spared.
Published June 2020
This primer identifies general trends in the current population of Indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada, examines the various reasons individuals choose entrepreneurship, and explores the challenges Indigenous entrepreneurs face in the North.
Published April 2020
This paper, the second in the Cool Ideas series, starts a conversation on whether remote robotic surgery could reduce costs, expand access, and/or improve surgical
services in the North, in the near term or distant future.
2019
Published July 2019
The Territorial Outlook provides the economic and fiscal outlook for each of Canada’s three Northern territories, including output by industry, labour markets, and demographics.
Published March 2019
This report examines the current situation—from survey findings, expert interviews, and a scan of policy and research—of Indigenous recruitment and retention for organizations in Canada’s Northern and remote regions.
2018
Published November 2018
This report, the first in the Cool Ideas research series, examines the potential application of 3D printing in the construction of homes in Canada’s North.
Territorial Outlook
| The Centre for the North publishes a biannual economic forecast for the Territories. These reports examine the economic and fiscal outlook for each of the territories, including output by industry, labour market conditions, and demographics. |
Published October 2018
The Conference Board of Canada organized and delivered the 2017 Our Land, Our Future summit on Indigenous youth and natural resource development. This report presents findings from the summit’s plenary and breakout sessions.
2017
Published September 2017
This report details the options and opportunities for Crown resource revenue sharing with Indigenous groups in Canada—and recommendations for advancing it—based on ongoing research and insights from forums we participated in during 2016–17.
Published March 2017
The report provides practical advice for industry proponents and Indigenous groups on how to improve their relationships and produce better results at different stages of a major project agreement.
Published February 2017
New financing ideas and approaches to procurement are being brought forward to close Canada’s Northern and Aboriginal infrastructure gaps. This briefing presents a high-level action plan incorporating these new solutions.
Published February 2017
Are public-private partnerships (P3s) suitable for transport infrastructure procurement in Canada’s North? This primer provides case illustrations and examines whether Northern and remote regions can benefit from the P3 approach.
2016
Published September 2016
Canada’s almost 300 remote off-grid communities depend mostly on diesel-powered generators for electricity. This report is a primer for decision-makers for making policy choices other than diesel-dependence.
Published April 2016
This briefing summarizes the key findings of The Conference Board of Canada’s labour market forecast and needs assessment for the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.). It discusses contemporary N.W.T. labour market issues and characteristics and presents the results of an economic outlook and occupational demand forecast for resident and rotational workers up to 2030.
2015
Published April 2015
This five-year review of Canada’s Centre for the North summarizes its half-decade of research on Canada’s North and provides an analysis of three priority items to be addressed.
2014
Published August 2014
Is Canada’s Northern public sector working effectively? This report compares Northern governance practices and challenges, and includes recommendations for public sector innovation in the territories and Northern provincial regions.
Published March 2014
The Centre for the North’s March 2014 briefing reports on a community resilience assessment project conducted with the remote Tłįchǫ community of Whatì, in the Northwest Territories.The project in Whatì reflects an increasing interest in community resilience in Canada and beyond as a concept relevant to coping with not only emergencies and disasters, but also a range of other challenges that confront communities every day.
Published January 2014
This report delivers new insights into the design and implementation of successful Aboriginal youth wellness strategies in Canada’s North. It reviews systemic challenges to contemporary Aboriginal youth wellness, identifying persistent gaps and measures to close them. Three contemporary Aboriginal youth wellness initiatives from across Canada's North are highlighted to reflect the diversity of potential strength-based Aboriginal youth wellness strategies, including examples of wellness through sport, cultural awareness, and living on the land.
2013
Published October 2013
This report provides decision-makers with an understanding of some of the main challenges and opportunities associated with marine-based economic development and how they might be managed. Among other recommendations, the report concludes that greater collaboration and pooling of resources could work to address the difficult operating environment, jurisdictional issues, scarce resources, and data gaps that currently characterize economic development in the oceans of Canada’s North.
Published July 2013
This report maps long-term options for Canada’s Northern connectivity landscape. In 2013, the immediate concern for Northern stakeholders-both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal-is to develop critical connectivity infrastructure that is reliable, scalable, and supportive of locally affordable services. In going forward, careful attention must equally be paid to developing multi-stakeholder partnerships that will mature and endure beyond immediate infrastructure concerns.
Published January 2013
Mining and its supporting industries will continue to be important economic drivers in many of Canada’s Northern regions over the course of the next decade. This report discusses a number of important factors—and their interrelationship with one another—that must be considered to ensure that both the positive and negative impacts of mining projects are fully understood.
2012
Published December 2012
This report offers four case studies of successful and innovative Northern housing initiatives across the country, including lessons learned from their development and implementation. It explores some of the major policies and programs established and implemented across Canada since the mid-1900s to address the availability and affordability of adequate housing in the North.
Published July 2012
This report provides a greater understanding of how to overcome the labour market integration challenges facing Aboriginal workers in Canada. Based on a comprehensive survey, it provides recommendations on the steps that employers, Aboriginal organizations, and policy-makers can take to help improve the labour market participation of Aboriginal workers.
Published May 2012
This report provides policy-makers, emergency management practitioners, and community and business leaders with a conceptual understanding of community resilience and what it means for Canada’s Northern communities.
Published February 2012
This report examines education in the context of Northern communities. Its primary objective is to explore Northern experiences and share lessons learned and practices and models that Northerners believe are having a positive impact on educational outcomes. By sharing examples of Northern educational practices and models that could be adopted more broadly throughout the North, the report offers insights and ideas on ways to tackle the challenges identified.
2011
Published December 2011
This report examines the role of Northern transportation infrastructure development in creating community links, enhancing commercial prospects, and facilitating economic growth. It features a case study of Churchill, Manitoba, to look at lessons learned and to analyze the implications of transportation infrastructure development that are relevant for other Northern communities. It also identifies policy issues and gaps in transportation infrastructure, as well as areas for further research.
Published November 2011
Canada’s North is a vast region, dotted with diverse communities. In many regions of this massive area, there is a lack of labour force capacity among the local population. Building Labour Force Capacity in Canada’s North attempts to answer the question: Given the multiple and often unique challenges in the North, how are organizations and communities building labour force capacity among the local population?
Published November 2011
This briefing reviews how stakeholders are trying to maximize the economic benefits of major natural resource projects in the North, while minimizing their social and environmental costs. It looks at the regulatory processes that aim to balance the costs and benefits and at innovative practices that are emerging to enhance the benefits of major resource projects while mitigating their negative impacts.
Published February 2011
This report estimates the contribution of the North to the Canadian economy over the 1999–2008 historical period. It incorporates all of the territories and the Northern portions of every province with the exception of the Maritimes. The main economic drivers of the North are the mining, forestry, and oil and natural gas sectors. Other industries important to the Northern economy include tourism, commercial fishing and hunting, the utility (hydroelectricity production) sector, and health, education and social services.
2010
Published December 2010
Northern communities, while diverse, tend to share some common attributes. Many are remote, with smaller, younger populations and higher proportions of Aboriginal peoples than their Southern counterparts. Most important, however, many are not secure, self-reliant, sustainable, or socially developed. In other words, many Northern communities are not thriving. In spite of these challenges, there are promising plans and programs being implemented within Northern regions and communities and the growing opportunity for sustainable development give reason for optimism.
Published November 2010
Using previous work done by the Northern Development Ministers Forum combined with initial literature reviews, and consultation with a group of Northerners, a collection of seven key industries was identified—oil and gas, mining, forestry, fishing, utilities, construction, and tourism. For each of the seven industries identified, a list of ideal indicators was developed to assist in assessing each industry’s current and potential economic contribution to the North’s economy.
Published November 2010
This report examines three dimensions of security in the North-Arctic security, Northern security, and community security-in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the security challenges in Canada’s North. The research found that, of these three, community security is the most important for Northerners. The people of the North see the community-rather than the individual, the state, or the nation-as the primary referent object of living a secure life.
Published November 2010
This book, part of the CIBC Scholar-in-Residence Program, draws on the different viewpoints of three nationally renowned scholars to explore the effectiveness of land use planning in Canada’s North from three very distinct perspectives. Their essays are required reading for those seeking to understand this important issue and draw their own conclusions.
Published May 2010
The education gap between First Nations people living on a reserve and non-Aboriginal people in Canada is disconcerting. E-learning has the potential to help close this gap because it is designed to minimize or eliminate the barriers (geographical, cultural, socio-economic, and historical) to educational success that First Nations people living on a reserve face.
2009
Published November 2009
Successful Aboriginal businesses create wealth and jobs in Aboriginal communities and Canada at large. This report profiles 10 successful First Nation, Inuit, and Métis businesses from across Canada and highlights common challenges and success factors. It provides an Aboriginal business guide and other resources that Aboriginal entrepreneurs can apply to their own businesses, and highlights the advantages to partnering with Aboriginal businesses.
2008
Published May 2008
Successful Aboriginal businesses create wealth and jobs in Aboriginal communities and Canada at large. This report profiles 10 successful First Nation, Inuit, and Métis businesses from across Canada and highlights common challenges and success factors. It provides an Aboriginal business guide and other resources that Aboriginal entrepreneurs can apply to their own businesses, and highlights the advantages to partnering with Aboriginal businesses.
Published March 2008
Prepared for the Aboriginal Affairs Branch at Canadian Heritage, this report examines the importance of Aboriginal cultural industries in Canada. Specifically, the report looks at both the social and economical impacts the industry has, while similarly understanding the challenges and opportunities the cultural industry creates. Finally, the report provides recommendations to better understand and measure this industry.