Canada and Arctic Politics: The Continental Shelf Extension

This article challenges the validity of the commonly held assumption that Canada and other Arctic countries are engaged in a highly competitive scramble to stake claims for extensions to their continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles, and that Canada may lose out because it is lagging behind in this race to claim as many seabed resources as possible. It argues that the process is orderly; that, under international law, Canada already has sovereign rights over the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles; that the process is generally characterized by cooperation; and that the timing of various countries’ submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will not be a key determinant of success.