Canadians are being invited to celebrate Canada鈥檚 150th birthday by joining the historic journey of a former Coast Guard icebreaker as it travels Canada鈥檚 entire coastline in 150 days.
There will be scientists, indigenous leaders, musicians, and innovators on board for the historic trip -- plus a few dozen lucky Canadians who to join a 10-day stretch of the journey.
The ship has been christened 鈥淐anada C3鈥� 鈥� named for the three coasts that it will pass through during the 23,000-kilometre voyage. It embarks from Toronto on June 1 and stops in 50 communities before docking on Oct. 28 in Victoria, B.C.
Canadians who don鈥檛 get to sail can participate by attending community events, in classrooms, at museums or as 鈥渧irtual expeditioners鈥� taking part in online chats and downloading podcasts and videos.
The journey is organized by Students on Ice, a charity that has been taking groups of young people and notable Canadians on missions to the Arctic for nearly two decades. It鈥檚 partly funded by a federal Canada 150 grant.
Founder Geoff Green says Students on Ice participants end up building personal connections with coastal and Arctic communities, and he expects C3 to do the same on a much bigger scale.
The goal is to engage 20 million Canadians in a conversation about what it means to be a coastal and Arctic nation, with a special focus on the Canada 150 themes: diversity and inclusion, the environment, youth and reconciliation, Green says.
Critical time for Arctic knowledge
About 40 per cent of Canada鈥檚 land mass is in the Arctic but only 100,000 of Canada鈥檚 35 million people live there, so few Canadians feel much connection to the north, according to Green. Building more connections to the Arctic couldn鈥檛 come at a more critical time, he says.
鈥淎s climate change and its impacts are happening, the Arctic is becoming more accessible,鈥� Green said. 鈥淲ith that come some big questions that we need to answer and decisions that we need to make.鈥�
The 鈥渂ig questions鈥� relate to how to balance economic opportunities -- like new shipping routes, fisheries and a possible oil and gas exploration -- with environmental and other concerns.
A key to this will be building bridges between indigenous communities and non-indigenous communities, according to Green. He says C3 will advance the dialogue by having indigenous knowledge incorporated every step of the way.
Strengthening these relationships could especially important at a time when other countries are pushing aggressively into the Arctic. Russia, for example, is expanding oil and gas exploration and claimed by Canada and Denmark.
According to Green, previous Students on Ice trips have highlighted inadequate housing, food, education and infrastructure faced by Inuit and other northern First Nations.
鈥淭he best way to showcase our sovereignty in the Arctic,鈥� according to Green, 鈥渋s to have healthy communities, with the needed infrastructure.鈥�
Trudeau鈥檚 northern connection
Canada C3 hasn鈥檛 announced which 鈥渞emarkable鈥� Canadians will be on board, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are, of course, invited.
It wouldn鈥檛 be their first trip to Canada鈥檚 rugged northern coasts. Green says the couple brought 鈥済ood karma鈥� when they volunteered as teachers with Students on Ice in 2005.
Green says Trudeau inspired the youth on board to be good environmental students. He also recalls Trudeau trying to inspire them to take the plunge into the Arctic Ocean by jumping off the bridge of the ship into frigid waters 15 metres below. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if showing off is the right word,鈥� he says.
Green also recalls Trudeau telling the youth on board how much it had meant to him to travel to the Arctic with his father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Their trip together to the North Pole when Justin was only six was famously referenced in Justin鈥檚 2000 eulogy for his father.
Trudeau strengthened his connection to the north in 2003, when he retraced his father鈥檚 canoe trip down in the Northwest Territories鈥� Nahanni River, which Pierre Trudeau protected with a national park reserve in 1976.
Trudeau made another visit to the Arctic in February, as part of his cross-country town hall tour.
During one stop in Yellowknife, over his decision last fall join with U.S. President Barack Obama on a five-year moratorium on drilling for oil and gas in Arctic waters.
Trudeau responded by saying that he is currently consulting territorial and indigenous leaders on a new Arctic policy that considers health care and education in addition to military defence.
鈥淵ou cannot protect, defend and respect Canada鈥檚 Arctic if you are not protecting, defending and respecting the people who live here and the people who have lived here for millennia,鈥� he said.
