Media, Security and Sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic: From the Manhattan to the Crystal Serenity by Mathieu Landriault

Author:Mathieu Landriault [Landriault, Mathieu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781000731163
Google: GSCyDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 49790249
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

The PM proceeded three times (2006, 2007, and 2014) in launching the military exercise. Harper also made it a tradition of addressing the CF partaking in operation NANOOK. Furthermore, the military exercise had been used numerous times as backdrop for various photo operations. For example, Harper was photographed in action onboard a Cormorant helicopter, while driving an all-terrain vehicle, or practicing at the shooting range with Canadian Rangers. This helped infuse the Prime Minister’s tour with a definite military flavour, playing on popular perceptions that the PM visit had a heavy military focus.

However, announcements publicized during these tours were not focused solely on military initiatives. Many announcements on Arctic (and more generally Northern2) issues were made or repeated during these tours. Investments as well as new programmes or measures were made part of the daily press releases of the PMO or Harper’s press conferences. In many instances, Harper was flanked by other members of Cabinet who had made the trip North with him. These investments were of a different nature, contrary to the persistent perception that the Conservative Arctic policy had a heavy military emphasis (see Table 3.3 for details).

Hence, varied announcements (mostly of an economic or environmental nature) were mixed in with activities of a military nature, so that military initiatives would not appear to dominate governmental political messaging. This strategy was quite politically rewarding. In fact, voter intentions for the Conservative Party of Canada went up 2.1% on average from 2006 to 2014 following these PM tours (Landriault and Minard, 2015: p. 52).

Other variables influenced the nature of the tours as well as their media exposure. For one, Russian initiatives in the Arctic were instrumentalized by the Harper government. Images of the Russian flag being deposited under the North Pole on 1 August 2007 coloured the Prime Minister’s rhetoric during his tour (held the week following the event). The interception of Russian fighter jets near Canada’s air space in the North in August 2008, during the PM’s Arctic visit, also attracted attention. These interceptions happened days after Russia’s intervention in Georgia, which generated international criticisms. These events typically increased public attention on PM visits.

The time of year in which these tours occurred was usually a slow-news period, thus facilitating greater media exposure. However, a number of unforeseen events were also put under the spotlight and monopolized people’s minds: the US Presidential race (2008), the combat in Libya (2011), and the chemical attacks by the Syrian regime (2013) may very well be classified as events that eclipsed the PM tour. The PM was also compelled to address these issues or react to them, diverting attention from the daily announcements or activities scheduled.

Table 3.3 List of key announcements made during the Prime Minister’s annual Arctic tours from 2006 to 2014

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