Northern Corridor Research Program: Phase 2 Final Report

The Canadian Northern Corridor is an idea that responds to Canada’s need to increase interregional and international trade, provide services to northern communities and establish a broadly accepted approach to large-scale infrastructure development. Since 2015, the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary has undertaken research and public engagement sessions to study the feasibility, acceptability and desirability of a coherent and unified approach to national and regional infrastructure development in Canada. This paper stands as a final abbreviated summary of the research and engagement program. The entire program comprises well over 40 individual studies conducted by over 50 contributing researchers and authors across eight research themes over the past eight years. This summary provides a high-level review of the research program. The research conducted under this program suggests that a large-scale corridor concept is challenging to conceive, in both theory and practice for mid- and northern Canada. For that reason, we recommend a segmented corridor approach focused on development initiatives which are already gaining public acceptance and which communities identify as key priorities, such as digital infrastructure. One immediate priority could be the digitization of highways and roads to enhance safety while travelling and to digitally connect communities. Regardless of the type of infrastructure, a corridor approach must reflect a holistic strategy addressing the shortcomings, such as unreliable transportation pathways, food insecurity and inadequate housing, which are related to the infrastructure gap in mid- and northern Canada.

We find that a large-scale corridor concept is challenging to conceive, in both theory and practice for mid- and northern Canada. We recommend a segmented corridor approach, focusing on those development initiatives which are already gaining public acceptance and which communities identify as key priorities, such as digital infrastructure. One early priority could be the digitization of highways and roads to enhance safety while travelling and to digitally connect communities. A corridor approach must reflect a holistic strategy addressing the shortcomings related to the infrastructure gap in mid- and northern Canada which contributes to unreliable transportation pathways, lack of digital connectivity, food insecurity, inadequate housing and lack of healthcare and education services.