Ottawa reveals plans to shut down and offload Nanisivik naval port on Baffin Island

OTTAWA — The federal government is shutting down its short-lived Nanisivik naval station on northern Baffin Island as a cost-cutting measure, and plans eventually to offload the property to another party.

The Department of National Defence announced Thursday it already has started to transition the problem-plagued Nanisivik Naval Facility out of operations.

The Arctic base, launched by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was once envisioned as a deepsea port and a pillar of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.

The station was built at a former mining site and refurbished by the federal government, but only came online in recent years after many years of delays and cost overruns.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government insists the station is no longer needed, citing its very short seasonal access window, repeated construction issues and costly repairs to corroded jetties.

Defence Minister David McGuinty said in a news release that a lot has changed since the station was first announced in 2007 and government priorities need to “keep pace with today’s realities.”

National Defence also said the long range of the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic offshore patrol vessels means the base is no longer needed for refuelling.

The department said it has spent upwards of $110 million on the facility so far, and planned to spend another $610,000 this fiscal year alone. It said it would have had to shell out another $200 million to make it fully operational.

The federal government said the site was never used for “routine or sustained naval operations.”

Ottawa plans to eventually divest itself of the asset entirely. The government said it does not have a plan for that yet and will consult first with Indigenous third parties.

A 2018 report by the federal auditor general warned the Nanisivik Naval Facility would provide “little value” to the Navy and could not “effectively support” vessels operating in the Arctic because it was only able to operate four weeks out of the year as a seasonal refuelling station.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan said the station’s mothballing shows the government is failing to increase Canada’s military presence in the Arctic. He accused the Liberals of rendering the station useless.

“The Liberals modified the plans for the naval station and decided the fuel tanks didn’t need to be heated in the high Arctic. This asinine decision guaranteed Nanisivik would be virtually unusable,” Bezan said in an emailed statement.

The Harper government announced the Arctic port project in 2007.

The project initially was to include ample docking space, year-round refuelling access and amenities for military personnel.

Due to substantial cost overruns, the Harper government scaled the project back significantly before it left office. It reduced the planned fuel storage and dropped plans for a jet strip and year-round accommodations.

A National Defence briefing note obtained by The Canadian Press in 2014 warned the Arctic facility would “have no functional use during winter.”

The upgrades were originally supposed to be completed by 2015 but only finished in recent years.

Work on the project was plagued by delays under the Justin Trudeau government and halted entirely during the pandemic.

It was finally completed in 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press