As a researcher, I have always sought to apply academic work to real-world policy needs. Over the past decade I have brought that approach to my public policy engagement with a diverse set of Canadian and international audiences and partners.
In November and February 2017, I participated in Global Affairs Canada’s development of the government’s new Arctic Policy Framework and, in the spring of 2016, I participated in the Department of National Defence’s defence policy review. With the Canadian Army I was one of two invited academics to participate in a 2016 process to revise the Army’s operating doctrine for the Arctic. I have also been invited to lecture to the Canadian Security and Intelligence Agency (CSIS), to speak as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ International Security Research and Outreach Program, and have participated in the Department of National Defense’s Expert Briefing Series.
Currently, I am one of several academics sitting as a regular member of the semi-annual Arctic Security Working Group (ASWG) – an interdepartmental working group which brings together policy officials from interested departments, agencies, and services from across the Government of Canada, the territories, and the military. I have also spent the past two years working closely with USNORTHCOM, NORAD, and other government partners on Arctic information operations, malign influence, and response strategies
With the legislative branch, I have presented evidence before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs (October 2018), the House Standing Committee on National Defence (May 2016), a Special Senate Committee (April 2019), as well as the British House of Commons Defence sub-Committee (February 2017).
For four years prior to Covid-19, I was a regular lecturer at the NATO Defence College in Rome, lecturing on Arctic defence and running seminars for mid-ranking officers from across the NATO alliance and its affiliated partner nations. In 2015 and 2016, I was an invited lecturer at the Canadian Forces College, where I participated in the College’s Joint Command and Staff Program. In 2020 I was also invited to lead a Canadian Armed Forces Staff College course in Halifax.
My work on China’s Arctic interests has resulted in several high-profile engagements, including a speaking role (one of two academics) at the the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable in Halifax. I was also invited to participate in the 6th Sino-Canadian Exchange in Dalian, China. This track-two diplomatic event brought together senior Canadian scholars and Chinese academics and officials to discuss opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the Far North.
June 2023: “China’s Arctic Ambitions and Western Security,” DoD Symposium on Information Strategy and Political Warfare (SISPoW), US Naval Postgraduate School (virtual).
May, 2023: “Arctic Information Operations,” NORAD/USNORTHCOM, The Arctic and Homeland Defense Symposium (Colorado Springs).
November, 2022: “NATO Maritime Security in the Arctic,” NATO Defence College Staff Course (Ottawa).
November, 2022: Evidence presented to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on National Defence (virtual).
October, 2022: “NATO-DRDC Science and Technology Climate Change and Security Workshop,” Defence Research and Development Canada (virtual).
July, 2022: “China’s Strategic Messaging in the Circumpolar Arctic,” Homeland Defence Awareness Symposium, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs.
June, 2022: “Northern Operations and Canada's Submarine Requirements,” Submarines: Canada's Strategic Requirement, Canadian Naval Association (virtual).
May, 2022: Evidence presented to the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence (virtual).
April, 2022: Evidence presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (virtual).
December, 2021: “China’s Strategic Arctic Presence,” Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Warfare Officers professional development (Halifax).
November, 2021: “China’s Arctic Interests and Canada,” Canadian Embassy, Tokyo (virtual).
November, 2021: “Land Forces and Arctic Sovereignty and Security,” Professional Development Program, 37 Canadian Brigade, Arctic Response Company Groups (virtual).
November, 2021: “Power Projection in the Canadian Arctic,” Northern Flank, US Navy-Marine Corps Academic Symposium (virtual).
October, 2021: “China’s Arctic Narratives,” US Indo-Pacific Command Information Operations Symposium (virtual).
September, 2021: “Beneath the Surface: The Future of Canada’s Submarine Fleet,” MINDS expert roundtable (DND) (virtual).
July, 2021: “Chinese Information Operations in the Arctic,” US Department of Defence Symposium on Information Strategy and Political Warfare, Naval Postgraduate School (virtual).
July, 2021: “Arctic Security in the Context of North American Defence Modernization,” NAADNS/NSA workshop in support of the Minister of National Defence’s mandate letter commitments to modernize NORAD (virtual).
March, 2021: “Information Sharing in the Western Arctic,” Advancing Collaboration in Canada-U.S. Arctic Regional Security II (ACCUSARS II) (virtual).
March, 2021: “Arctic Submarine Operations History and Current Threats,” Developing Rapid Environmental Assessment Requirements and Capabilities for ASW in a Rapidly Thawing Arctic Ocean,” NATO Allied Command Transformation (virtual).
November, 2020: Academic facilitator, Canadian Forces Staff College, Halifax.
November, 2020: “Arctic Capable Units to Achieve DoD Objectives,” US Army Arctic Security Strategy Workshop (virtual).
October, 2020: “China’s Arctic Military Options,” Canadian Leaders at Sea (Royal Canadian Navy) (virtual).
September, 2020, “Canada-US Relations and Arctic Sovereignty,” USNORTHCOM organized ‘Arctic Influencers’ Speakers Series (virtual).
February, 2020: “China’s Arctic Ambitions and Canada,” Presentation as part of the Department of Finance China Series, Ottawa.
February, 2020: Roundtable discussion on Chinese Arctic interests with Global Affairs China, Arctic, and Intelligence teams, Ottawa.
May, 2015- May 2019 (biannual): “Arctic Security,” NATO Defence College, Rome.
June, 2019: “NATO North,” Presentation at “New Perspectives on Shared Security – NATO’s Next 70 Years,” Canadian Global Affairs Institute/NATO, Ottawa.
April, 2019: Evidence presented at the Special Senate Committee on the Changing Arctic, Ottawa.
February, 2019: “Toward a Revised Army Arctic Concept,” Brief to a roundtable revising Canadian Army doctrine in the Arctic, Canadian Army Land Warfare Centre, Ottawa.
November, 2018: “Academic-Government Partnerships in Northern Security,” Brief to the Arctic Security Working Group, Yellowknife.
October, 2018: Evidence presented before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee Foreign Affairs on Arctic Sovereignty on “Arctic Sovereignty,” Ottawa.
October, 2018: Workshop participant, “Implementing Canada’s Arctic Priorities in Strong, Secure, Engaged, Centre for National Security Studies, Ottawa.
August, 2018: Participant, “Canadian Leaders at Sea” aboard HMCS Charlottetown’s during its Arctic deployment for Operation NANOOK ’18.
June, 2018: “Arctic Sovereignty,” Brief Submitted to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
May, 2018: “Chinese Maritime Activity: Consent and Cooperation in the North,” 6th Sino-Canadian Exchange, Dalian, China.
May, 2018: “China’s Arctic Policy and its Security Implications,” Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, Halifax.
November, 2017: Invited participant, Arctic Policy Framework Development Workshop, Global Affairs, Ottawa.
November, 2017: “The Xue Long’s Voyage through the Northwest Passage,” briefing to the Arctic Security Working Group, Yellowknife.
February, 2017: Evidence present to the British House of Commons Defence sub-Committee on “Defence in the Arctic.”
December, 2016: Policy briefings to the Department of National Defence on Whole of Government operations in the Canadian Arctic as part of a Defence Engagement Program research project, Ottawa.
December, 2016: “Whole of Government Operations in the North,” Defence Engagement Program workshop, Yellowknife.
December, 2016: “Cruise Tourism in the Canadian Arctic,” Arctic Security Working Group, Yellowknife.
September, 2016: “Arctic Sovereignty,” Canadian Forces College, Joint Command and Staff Program Lecturer, Toronto.
September, 2016: “Russian Arctic Priorities and Objectives and the Impact on Canada,” Expert Briefing Series, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Ottawa.
May, 2016 Defence Policy Review, Expert Stakeholder Consultations, Department of National Defence, Yellowknife.
May, 2016: “North American Air Defence,” Evidence presented before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, Ottawa.
March, 2016: Invited participant, “Canadian Academic Symposium,” NORAD, Colorado Springs.
November, 2015: “Global Economic Trends and Northern Development,” Arctic Security Working Group, Yellowknife.
September, 2015: “Arctic Sovereignty,” Canadian Forces College, Joint Command and Staff Program Lecturer.
March, 2015: “Canada-Russia Relations and the Emerging Arctic Security Environment,” International Security Research and Outreach Program, Department of Foreign Affairs, Montreal.
September, 2015: “Canadian Arctic Sovereignty: History and Current Implications,” Joint Command and Staff Program, Canadian Forces College, Toronto.
December, 2014: “Canada’s Arctic Waters and the US Navy,” Department of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa.
December, 2014: “The CAF and the Arctic,” Expert Briefing Series, Department of National Defence, Ottawa.
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