Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland, is seen in 2024. A new Canadian Consulate is now operating in the city. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
A new Canadian Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, is operational, says Canada’s senior Arctic official.
Virginia Mearns made the announcement Wednesday during the Ingiulik Nunavut Shipping Summit at the Aqsarniit hotel in Iqaluit.
“I’m happy to share with you that the new consulate in Greenland is now operational with an acting head of mission,” said Mearns, Canada’s Arctic ambassador, during a 10-minute speech.
The consulate’s priorities are to strengthen relations between Canada and Greenland, foster personal ties and mobility, and enhance co-operation on Arctic governance and security, said Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod in an email.
Julie Crôteau, a career diplomat with expertise in Arctic issues, has been stationed in Nuuk since November as acting head of consular post. A permanent consul will be appointed “in due course,” MacLeod said.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand are scheduled to officially open the consulate in early February.
Anand is also scheduled to open a new consulate in Anchorage, Alaska, at a later date, Mearns said.
Global Affairs Canada declined a request for an interview with Mearns about the consulate in Greenland for now.
The consulate has opened amid escalating tensions over the self-governing territory of Denmark, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeating his intention over the past few weeks to acquire Greenland, by negotiation or force.
The consulate has been in the works since November 2024, MacLeod said during a phone interview. It was originally scheduled to open in November 2025, but poor weather prevented Canadian officials from making the trip.
The consulate in Nuuk falls under the leadership of Canada’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, Carolyn Bennett. She is based in Copenhagen but will make regular visits to Nuuk, MacLeod said.
In her speech, Mearns expressed the need to enhance Arctic emergency preparedness. She advocates for Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or Inuit traditional knowledge, to inform Arctic emergency policy.
Mearns said she has heard concerns about the impact of shipping on Arctic wildlife at the summit and during recent visits to the territories.
Ice-free summer shipping routes to Asia and Europe are expected to open up by 2050, she said, but parts of the Arctic Archipelago may become choked with ice, according to modelling by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“These unpredictable ice changes are a hazard for the foreseeable future,” Mearns said.