that has been contested towards claiming absolute sovereignty of the Northern area is that there needs to be a defined boundary. Although Canada has asserted a claim towards the majority of the Arctic, this claim has been debated by the international community and remains unclear. Due to the lack of infrastructure and citizens in the area, Canada does not have a definitive claim to the Arctic if Northern sovereignty were to be threatened by another country. Through the CanNor initiative, the Canadian Government is attempting to develop the region to combat this problem. Resources available A central purpose for the creation of CanNor is to exploit the resources available in unused territory. The Canadian Government plans on creating commercial fisheries in the Arctic region by building infrastructure in 2013. In addition, a hydroelectric power plant is being built in Lower Churchill to create infrastructure towards expanding the economy and population in the Northern region. Although Nunavut only currently has one mine, there are over ten mineral extraction projects set to be in place by 2020. There are 25 other possible projects that are undergoing exploration towards ore extraction in the future, leading to a possibility of a growing economy and increased revenue. As permafrost continues to melt due to rising temperatures, oil will become a profitable resource found from the Arctic. There is a presumed 90 billion barrels of oil and 770 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Arctic Circle. It has been estimated that from prospecting, there is more oil in the Arctic on and offshore than in the Western provinces. In addition, two of the largest underdeveloped gas fields are in the Arctic region, which poses opportunities for further development in the Northern territories. Petroleum has been located in the Canada Basin, but the remoteness, deep water, and ice conditions pose a risk for major investment. From this, there are a large amount of available resources to be extracted from the Arctic region. Government investment is necessary to stimulate a new Northern economy. Another additional resource in the Arctic Circle is the Northwest Passage becoming a shipping route in the future. Satellite mapping has confirmed late-summer sea ice has been decreasing steadily since 2006. If climate-induced changes continue at the current rate, the Northwest Passage will likely be completely free of ice between 2040 and 2059, leading to the possibility of becoming a shipping route in the