Arctic offshore oil and gas

Learn about the Government of Canada's approach for offshore oil and gas in the Arctic.

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Background

On December 20, 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian Arctic waters are indefinitely off limits to new offshore oil and gas licencing, to be reviewed every five years through a science-based review. As existing oil and gas licences in the Arctic offshore were not impacted by the announcement, the Prime Minister also committed to a one-year consultation process with the current licence holders and with territorial and Northern Indigenous governments on their interests in the offshore.

Officials from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, now Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Natural Resources Canada coordinated the consultations throughout 2017.

In addition to the points of view of interested parties heard during the consultations, the Government of Canada considered the opinions and ideas gathered during engagement activities of both the 2016 Review of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act and on the development of a new Shared Arctic Leadership Model before deciding on next steps on future Arctic oil and gas development on October 4, 2018.

The path forward

As a result of the information received through the consultations and engagement activities, the Government of Canada is committed to a future approach on Arctic offshore oil and gas which will be developed in collaboration with all parties concerned. As part of the next steps, announced on October 4, 2018, the government will:

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