Opinion: Hey, Greenland! Join us, not the United States
financialpost.comBy Erin Weir
Donald Trump has suggested he might like to take over Canada and Greenland. While we’re re-imagining the geography of the Western Hemisphere, why not consider the advantages, both for it and for us, of Greenland joining Canada?
Canada and Greenland are Arctic neighbours, and in fact already share a small land border on Hans Island — which would be even less in dispute if it became a territorial boundary. We also share significant cultural connections. Greenland’s population is overwhelmingly Inuit, while Canada is home to the world’s largest Inuit population. Both Inuit populations are several times larger than Alaska’s or, for that matter, Denmark’s.
Greenland aims to develop its economy through mining. The United States is an economic superpower, of course, but in mining Canadian companies are the world leaders and, for obvious reasons, have extensive experience building and operating Arctic mines.
Though Greenland’s prime minister wants his country to be independent, it relies on Denmark for fiscal support. The Americans could afford such support, but just how Greenland might fit into the U.S. is far from clear. Would it get statehood? That seems unlikely, given its population of just below 60,000, barely a tenth that of Wyoming, currently the least populous state. The U.S. territories without statehood are the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and a handful of small tropical islands. Neither governance model seems likely to appeal to Greenlanders.
By contrast, Canada has political institutions that meet the unique needs of large Arctic territories. For decades, our federal government has devolved greater authority to territorial governments and provided Territorial Formula Financing (TTF) to cover the
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