The center is meant to "promote Canadian interests, influence key partners and better understand emerging issues," Cannon said in a press release after returning from the Sixth Arctic Council Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Norway.
The research center is seen as a key component in Ottawa's strategy to educate Europeans about the challenges of living in the Arctic, government officials said.
"We believe that a better understanding of the realities of the region, including the interests and concerns of northerners, must be at the heart of our respective northern policies," a foreign affairs official told the Canadian Press.
The European Union has on occasion "demonstrated a lack of sensitivity to the interests and perspectives of Arctic peoples," most notably with its ban on trade in seal products, the official added.
