Canada, Greenland and the United States: Building a Trilateral Arctic Safety Partnership

By Bastion Institute · November 13, 2026

Most talk about Greenland in 2026 has been about sovereignty and bases. For the people who live and work in the North American Arctic, the more pressing questions are practical. Who answers a distress call in Baffin Bay? Who sees a vessel entering Nares Strait? Can a community resupply depend on a single airstrip or cable? These are questions that Canada, Greenland and the United States can answer together, within the Kingdom of Denmark’s constitutional arrangements and alongside NATO and NORAD.

Why safety first

Safety cooperation is concrete, it builds trust, and it serves people directly. It also uses the same building blocks as defence: sensors, aircraft, ships, communications and trained people in the North. Denmark’s new Arctic drones are designed to support search and rescue as well as surveillance (Government of Greenland), and Canada’s Northern Operational Support Hubs are meant to be multi-use infrastructure that also meets the needs of territories, Indigenous Peoples and northern communities (Prime Minister of Canada).

What already exists

The 2011 Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement, signed in Nuuk, which commits Arctic states to cooperate on aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (Treaty record).
The June 2022 agreement among Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland that settled Tartupaluk (Hans Island) and modernized a single maritime boundary of more than 3,000 km. Inuit of Nunavut and Greenland were consulted, and the agreement protects access to and free movement on the whole island (Global Affairs Canada; Arctic Foreign Policy).
Canada’s consulate in Nuuk, opened in February 2026 (AP). Greenland has said it hopes to open an office in Ottawa in return (CBC News).
A Canada–Denmark defence cooperation memorandum signed in February 2026 with Greenlandic and Faroese ministers, covering logistics, training, exercises and industrial cooperation (National Defence), and Denmark’s 2025 decision to join Canada’s Maritime Security Partnership.
The May 2026 Arctic Allies statement committing the seven Western Arctic states to deepen security dialogue and coordinate on investment screening and critical infrastructure (Global Affairs Canada).
NORAD, which already exercises with U.S. and Canadian aircraft at Pituffik (Air & Space Forces Magazine).

Seven practical steps

The following are the Bastion Institute’s recommendations for discussion. They are meant to connect existing tools, not to replace NATO, NORAD or the Kingdom of Denmark’s responsibilities.

1. A standing trilateral search and rescue working group. Canada’s northern air and marine rescue is coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres in Trenton and Halifax (National Defence). A working group linking them with Greenland’s and Denmark’s rescue authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard could run regular mass-rescue exercises, especially for cruise ships in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Nares Strait. This would complement the Arctic Council chairship’s planned work on passenger ship incidents (Arctic Council).

2. Shared maritime and air domain awareness. Canada’s Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar, Denmark’s new East Greenland air surveillance radar, drones and satellites, and NORAD’s sensors will watch overlapping spaces (National Defence; Danish Ministry of Defence). Agreed arrangements for sharing the unclassified safety picture with civilian rescue, fisheries and environmental authorities would let one investment serve several missions.

3. Dual-use infrastructure planning. Ports, runways, fuel, housing and communications in the North are scarce on both sides of the boundary. Coordinating Canada’s support hubs and Denmark’s Nuuk headquarters, undersea cable and patrol vessels (Danish Ministry of Defence) around community needs would reduce duplication and leave lasting benefits.

4. Inuit-led priorities. Inuit in Canada, Greenland and Alaska have said they are one people separated by colonial borders and have asked allies to support Greenlanders in determining their own future (ITK; Inuit Circumpolar Council). The Inuit-led Pikialasorsuaq Commission, with commissioners from Canada and Greenland, shows how shared waters can be managed with communities on both sides (Pikialasorsuaq Commission; Fisheries and Oceans Canada). Canada could also consider Greenland’s proposal for an Arctic North American forum linking Greenland with Nunavut, Nunavik, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska (High North News).

5. Community-based response. The Canadian Coast Guard’s all-Indigenous Arctic Marine Response Station in Rankin Inlet responded to seven rescue incidents in 2025, and its Indigenous Community Boat Volunteer Program is adding local response vessels (Canadian Coast Guard). Exchanges between these crews and Greenlandic communities would spread practical lessons quickly.

6. Finish Tartupaluk. Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy describes an agreed border regime on the island, developed with Nunavut and local Inuit, as the last step before the 2022 agreement enters into force (Global Affairs Canada). Where that work remains open, completing it would show that Arctic disputes are settled by law and with Inuit at the table.

7. Minerals with local benefit. Investment screening is now part of Arctic security (Global Affairs Canada). Canada and the United States could pair screening with financing, skills and infrastructure that leave value in Greenland, a concern raised by Belfer Center experts after the Tanbreez approval (Belfer Center).

Respecting the constitutional picture

Any partnership would need to work through the appropriate authorities. Denmark’s Arctic defence agreements are made in close collaboration with Greenland’s government and with respect for the division of competences within the Kingdom (Danish Ministry of Defence), and Greenland has its own foreign, security and defence strategy (Naalakkersuisut). The 2026 U.S.–Denmark–Greenland agreement reaffirms Greenland’s right to self-determination (FactCheck.org). A trilateral safety partnership would need to be built with Nuuk and Copenhagen together.

Key takeaways

Safety cooperation (search and rescue, domain awareness, infrastructure) is a practical way to build trust among Canada, Greenland and the United States.
Many building blocks already exist: the Arctic SAR Agreement, the 2022 boundary agreement, the Nuuk consulate, the Canada–Denmark defence MOU and NORAD.
A standing trilateral SAR working group and shared safety picture are practical first steps.
Inuit-led bodies and Greenland’s proposed Arctic North American forum should shape priorities.
Partnership should run through both Nuuk and Copenhagen and leave lasting value in Greenland.

Sources

This Insight was prepared by the Bastion Institute from the public sources listed above, current as of November 13, 2026. Developments after that date, including the Danish parliament’s scheduled vote on the U.S.–Denmark–Greenland agreement, are not reflected.