Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mr. Marsh and I'm here today to teach you all about the development opportunities and challenges in Northern Canada.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain opportunities and challenges of developing cold environments in Northern Canada.

There are four key terms for today's lesson.

Those are: indigenous, mineral extraction, tourism, and permafrost.

Indigenous refers to the people that originally lived and may continue to live in a particular country or region.

Mineral extraction refers to the process of removing valuable minerals from the earth.

Tourism refers to the business of attracting and taking care of visitors to a place.

And finally, permafrost refers to a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions.

There are three learning cycles for today's lesson.

We're gonna start with the first learning cycle, which is all about trying to understand a bit of case study knowledge.

The case study background of Northern Canada.

Now Northern Canada is a vast area of both polar and tundra biomes and it covers almost 4 million kilometres squared, which is roughly 40% of Canada's total land area.

Now Canada itself is located on the continent of North America and is the second largest country in the world.

Only Russia is in fact larger.

Despite its enormous size, Canada has a relatively small population of around 40 million people.

For comparison, the United Kingdom has about 68 million people, even though Canada is over 40 times larger in land area.

Because of its size, Canada includes a wide range of climate zones and vegetation biomes such as taiga, boreal forests, grasslands, and temperate deciduous forests.

In the far north, parts of Canada extend beyond the Arctic Circle.

This region is extremely remote and cold, and as a result, less than 1% of Canada's population actually lives there.

And did you know that this area is over 17 times the size of the UK and larger than the entire European Union put together? So let's now then try to understand a little bit more about our focus for today's lesson, which is all about those polar and tundra regions of Northern Canada, since these are our cold environments.

Now these are found generally on, or north of 66.

5 degrees North, otherwise known as the Arctic Circle.

Now they're found then in the north of the North American continent.

And if we zoom in even further on the Arctic Circle, it can be seen that Northern Canada's polar and tundra regions are broken up over 36,000 different islands in the north of Canada.

It borders the Arctic Ocean, which is frozen over during the winter season and it shares borders with the USA via Alaska to the west and also to Greenland, which is part of Denmark, to the east.

This map then now shows only Canada and we can see that the polar and tundra biomes in Canada are, as I said before, largely north of the Arctic Circle, 66.

5 degrees North, and found in the northernmost parts of the country.

They're found largely north of the treeline as well.

So we're beginning to understand that our tundra and our polar biomes are largely treeless as well.

And finally, once again we can see that they're broken up.

The tundra and polar biomes within Canada are broken up over large notable islands.

We know that they're broken up over 36,000 different islands, but there are some larger, more notable islands that we need to make note of, including Victoria Island as well as Baffin Island as well.

Time now for a learning check.

It says which four of the following accurately describe the location of Northern Canada's tundra and polar regions? So you can see you've got five options there.

What you need to do then is look through those statements and select the four which are accurately describing the location of Canada's tundra and polar regions.

So pause the video here whilst you attempt this learning check.

And the four correct answers were that they are found in North America, located generally on or north of 66.

5 degrees North, that they border the Arctic Ocean.

And finally that they are bordering Alaska, which is part of the USA, and Greenland, which is a semi or autonomous region of Denmark.

So really, really well done if you were able to select those four correct answers.

Our next learning check says: Together, polar and tundra regions make up approximately what percentage of Canada's total land area? Now once again, I'd like you to pause the video here whilst you try to recall that piece of information.

And the correct answer was roughly 40%.

So really, really well done if you were able to recall that piece of information.

So the tundra biome is often a vast, flat, treeless region.

The word tundra is actually Finnish and it literally means "treeless plain." Now we've got a wonderful image on the screen in front of you, showing us a typical example of tundra.

Let's try to understand what's going on there a little bit more.

So first of all, we can see caribou and they migrate south in the winter to find warmer climates.

We can see large stretches of bare ground and rock, again, perhaps suggesting the low soil quality in terms of nutrients.

And finally, we can see patchy areas of low vegetation such as mosses, lichens, and small shrubs.

Once again, speaking volumes about the lack of vegetation as well as the poor soil quality and the perhaps difficult climate there for vegetation to really thrive in.

The small settlement of Aklavik, found in Northern Canada, is, for the next couple of slides, going to provide us with a case study reference point to really try to understand the climate that's found in the tundra polar regions of Northern Canada.

Now we can see that the coordinate location of Aklavik with the image there that you can see in front of you is actually found at 68 degrees North and 135 degrees West.

So clearly it's found north of the Arctic Circle.

It has a very small population of just 644 people.

And in terms of culture then, it is home to both the Inuit and Dene indigenous people.

Let's have a look then at the climate of Aklavik to try to understand how it compares with London for example.

So on the left we've got a climate graph of Aklavik and on the right hand side we've then got a climate graph of London here in the UK.

So we can see on the left hand side, with Aklavik we can see clear extreme seasonality in terms of temperature.

Notice how it gets much, much warmer during the summer months, somewhere between May and September.

By looking at that red line graph, we can see that the temperatures climb quite drastically compared to those colder winter months.

We can also see much lower rainfall in Aklavik across the year, under 250 millimetres across the year in total, which thereby classifies it as a desert climate.

Yes, we can even get cold deserts, not just hot deserts, but we can even get cold deserts, and the polar and tundra regions of Northern Canada, including Aklavik, is certainly an example of a cold desert.

We can also see much lower average temperatures in Aklavik across the entire year.

So the climate graph of Aklavik really does show the extremes of Northern Canada's climate.

For example, we can see more precipitation in summer months between July and March with a peak rainfall of just 40 millimetres in August.

And there are far less precipitation in winter between December and April, with just six millimetres in April.

So what we're beginning to get an understanding of is that during the winter months, it becomes very cold and dry, whilst in the summer months, it warms up and gets slightly wetter.

There is a peak of 14 degrees Celsius in June and a low of minus 26 degrees Celsius in January.

So we're seeing a 40 degree range in terms of temperature between those two months, which really goes, once again, to show the huge extremes in terms of temperature between summer and winter.

So a quick learning check, and it says which two of the following accurately describe the climate of Aklavik? What you need to do then right now is pause the video whilst you read through those four options and select the two that you think are the correct answers.

And the two correct answers you were looking for were C and D, the fact that precipitation is highest in August and D, there are clear warm and cold seasons.

Really, really well done if you were able to identify those two as the correct answers.

Large areas of Northern Canada have less than 250 millimetres of rainfall or precipitation per year and thereby classifies it as a cold desert, as a desert.

Nevertheless, biodiversity is still relatively high.

The polar and tundra regions here support hundreds of different species of both mammals and birds and these can include the following: species such as caribou, polar bears, Arctic hares, and snowy owls amongst many, many others.

And this all goes back to the adaptations that these plants and animals have evolved to survive those really, really extreme difficult climactic conditions.

For example, plants in Northern Canada are adapted to these dry and cold conditions and the low nutrient, shallow soils.

For example, the Arctic poppy has a hairy stem to actually retain heat, and its flower can track the sun and move with the sun to maximise the sunlight that it receives to increase photosynthesis.

Meanwhile, cotton grass, it is low-lying to actually protect it from the strong polar winds that are found in Northern Canada.

It also produces small seeds quickly to use the tundra's short growing season, which are dispersed easily then by the wind.

Indigenous communities such as the Inuit people have inhabited Canada's Arctic for at least 4,000 years.

They have developed highly specialised skills and tools for Arctic survival such as kamiks, which are winter boots made from seal skin that remain warm even in sub-zero temperatures and don't freeze like modern materials.

They have also built qajaqs or kayaks, as you can see on the image in front of you, for stealthy hunting on water and qamutiks which are sleds which are designed to glide over sea ice, which are pulled by dog teams. Furthermore, the Inuit hunters are able to read subtle changes in snow texture and wind patterns to actually track animals like seals and caribou.

And in the summer they gather plants like crowberries and cloud berries for medicine and nutrition.

This detailed knowledge is passed down through storytelling and observation.

Despite their long history of living in these regions, their way of life is unfortunately increasingly under threat from climate change and other challenges.

Time now for a learning check.

It says to describe the location of Northern Canada's polar and tundra regions.

And you can include the following your answers: lines of latitude, continents, compass directions, neighbouring countries, oceans, as well as scale.

The second and final question for learning cycle one says: The Inuit people are skilled at living in the extreme cold and dry conditions of Northern Canada.

Add more examples of these skills and tools around the photo.

And you can see that we've given you one as a starter.

You can see that the Inuit live in small groups so as not to put too much pressure on those limited resources found in the polar and tundra regions.

So then, what you need to do then now is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback then, for the first question, you were asked to describe the location of Northern Canada's polar and tundra regions.

And your answer could have included the following points: The fact that it's located generally on or near 66.

5 degrees North.

The fact that it's found north of the Arctic Circle, which again is 66.

5 degrees North, it's found in northern, North America, thereby making reference to continents.

It's found in the Northern Hemisphere, it's found between Alaska, which is part of the USA, to the west and Greenland, which is part of Denmark, to the east.

The fact that it's broken up over 36,000 islands, including, for example, Baffin Island.

And finally the fact that it borders the Arctic Ocean.

The second question asks you to look at the Inuit people and how they are skilled at living in the harsh conditions.

And I needed you to add more examples of these skills to the photo and your answers could have included the following: the fact that they can read changes in snow texture and wind patterns to track animals like seals and caribou.

The fact that they can build qajaqs or kayaks, as you can see on the image in front of you, for stealthy hunting on water.

They can craft kamiks or boots which are made from seal skin, that remain warm in minus temperatures.

They are expert hunters and make use of every part of the animal that they kill.

And finally that they use and design and build qamutiks which are sleds, the sled that you can see on the image in front of you.

And these are designed to glide over sea ice and they are pulled by dog teams. So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our second learning cycle, which is all about development opportunities in Northern Canada.

Now there are many different opportunities within Northern Canada and these include: mineral extraction, tourism, fishing and energy production.

And what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at these individually to try to understand what the scale of the opportunity here is with each of these.

So time now for a learning check, and it says: Which one is not an opportunity for economic development in Northern Canada? So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video here whilst you read through those four options and select what you think is the correct answer.

And the correct answer is A: forest logging.

And as Sofia rightly says, "I remember that tundra is Finnish for 'treeless plain' so it makes sense that forest logging would not be an opportunity for development in this area." So really, really well done if you were able to select A as the correct answer.

The Canadian Arctic is rich in mineral resources including oil and gas for energy, iron ore for steel making, lead which can be used in batteries, nickel which can be used for stainless steel as well as again, batteries, rare earths and diamonds, which are abrasive, for drilling or in fact for jewellery.

And these all offer opportunities for development.

So how does that work? Well, first of all, the minerals are actually mined.

These then can be sold to international markets and this can generate income for Canada.

It can also then reinvest that money into Canada's development.

It can be reinvested perhaps into creating more jobs and opportunities within mining and mineral extraction, or perhaps it can be reinvested into social care, perhaps things such as hospitals or perhaps even education.

So it's able to generate this money, which it can then be used to reinvest in Canada's social and economic development.

For example, 6 to 7% of global nickel is found in Canada, much of which is in its Northern Territories.

So once again, these minerals then can be mined, perhaps for use in batteries.

It can be sold globally or perhaps nationally.

This creates income and from sales and tax and from local job creation.

And finally then, that money can be reinvested into national services and infrastructure.

For example, the Mary River Mine, pictured here in front of you and located on Baffin Island, extracts iron ore from one of the world's largest reserves and the mine produces 4.

2 million tonnes a year.

So it is a very large scale mine and the mining sector generally across Canada employs 8,500 people.

And as I said this mine here, the Mary River Mine currently produces 4.

2 million tonnes of iron ore a year.

It has though, been very controversial due to its impacts on the environment.

And a recent proposal to actually extend operations including the construction of a 110 kilometre railway was opposed by local Inuit groups and was finally rejected by the Canadian government due to environmental concerns.

Time now for a learning check.

It says to complete the flow chart below, showing how Canada benefits from its natural mineral extraction.

You need to try to also provide an example of each step.

So you can see there are two gaps missing in that flow chart and there are also examples missing.

What you need to do then is pause the video here whilst you attempt this learning check.

Best of luck.

And we can see that the first answer then was mined.

An example of that then is perhaps lithium, nickel, diamonds, gold, iron, et cetera.

And finally, the final step was invested.

And Canada, or any country for that matter, can reinvest those profits or income that it generates into national services and infrastructure, for example.

So really, really well done if you were able to complete that flow chart in front of you.

In terms of tourism then, well, with its unique and pristine environment and opportunities for wildlife watching, for example, polar bears, tourism has grown rapidly in recent years and has become an important source of income and employment.

For example, cruise adventure tourism has increased significantly in the Arctic regions of Northern Canada.

This undoubtedly creates jobs.

For example, local Indigenous communities such as the Inuit people gain work as tour guides offering unique experiences and even selling their handmade crafts.

This generates income with 500,000 people visiting the region annually and visitors spending approximately C$388 each and every single year.

Cruise adventure tourism has increased significantly, particularly as access has improved due to climate change.

There are though environmental issues caused by large numbers of people trampling fragile vegetation and leaving waste.

In terms of fishing opportunities then, well, the Canada's Arctic seas are rich in fish stocks, particularly cod.

Fishing though is generally small scale and based in the local coastal communities found there.

Nevertheless, annual exports in 2017 total C$798 million.

And in fact in 2014 the Canadian government pledged to actually maintain sustainable stocks of fish for the indigenous people.

In terms of energy production then, well, exploration licences have been issued to begin exploring Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Delta, in terms of drilling for oil and gas.

Current production of oil and gas in Northern Canada is actually rather small.

However, new technology and climate change is beginning to open up previously inaccessible areas.

35% of Canada's remaining natural gas and 37% of its remaining crude oil are located in its Northern Territories.

And this actually represents C$900 million if fully extracted and sold.

There are also significant reserves of uranium found in this region, which can be used, again for nuclear energy.

These could be mined and sold on the international market or it could be used for domestic nuclear power production.

Or the electricity could even be sold to other national electrical grids, such as the USA, thereby generating income for Canada.

Another way that energy can be produced in this region is via more renewable energy programmes or initiatives because Northern Canada has many rivers, strong winds and is largely treeless.

This offers space and ideal conditions for renewable energy projects such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power.

Now, in front of you, you can see Old Crow Solar Project, which is found in Yukon.

And 2,160 solar panels generate 24% of the local town's energy needs, which reduces dependence on diesel and fossil fuels.

This then doesn't release any carbon dioxide and it's a green energy source.

It's environmentally sustainable and it combats climate change.

It also provides locals with electricity and it can be sold regionally as well.

So a quick learning check.

It says true or false? Canada developing their renewable energy industry in the Northern territories would only have environmental benefits.

So what I want you to do then right now is pause the video whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why the statement then is false.

And the reason it's false is because it also has economic benefits too by creating jobs in the manufacture and installation of solar farms, wind turbines, as well as the eventual sale of the energy to potential partners.

So really, really well done if you were able to identify those two correct answers.

We're on now to our one and only practise task for the second learning cycle and it says to complete the poster to explain how development opportunities in Northern Canada can develop the country's economy and society.

So what I want to do then is pause the video here whilst you attempt the practise task that you can see on the screen in front of you.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback then, you were asked to name five minerals mined or drilled in Northern Canada.

And you could have included: oil, coal, nickel, lithium, diamonds, uranium, et cetera.

You were then asked to explain how mineral exploitation can improve Canada's economy and society.

Well, these minerals then can be mined or drilled which actually creates jobs and these can then be used for domestic use or even sold on the international market, which generates income.

And this income then can be reinvested into services such as hospitals or education or perhaps be even reinvested back into the economy to create more jobs and wealth for its people.

The second and final part asked you to give examples and facts of development opportunities within fishing, energy production and tourism.

Now what I would like you to do then is pause the video here whilst you read through my answer and compare it against yours and just try to ensure that perhaps you've got some of those facts and figures and examples to really bolster your knowledge about the opportunities within fishing, energy production and tourism.

But if you were able to include anything like that, what you can see on the screen in front of you, then really, really well done.

We're on to our third and final learning cycle and this is all about the development challenges found in Northern Canada.

Cold environments found in Northern Canada presents significant challenges to development, because while many development opportunities do exist, exploiting them fully remains problematic, largely due to the harsh climate that's found there.

Let's have a look at those challenges.

So for example: infrastructure, inaccessibility, provision of buildings and extreme temperatures.

And once again, we're gonna spend a bit of time trying to understand each and every one of these challenges to development in Northern Canada.

So a quick learning check, it says to identify two major challenges to development in Northern Canada.

You've got four options on the screen in front of you.

What I need you to do then is pause the video here whilst you select your two answers.

Best of luck.

And the two correct answers were inaccessibility and extreme temperatures.

Really, really well done if you're able to identify A and C as the correct answers.

In terms of extreme temperatures then, we know that the winters there get extremely cold and temperatures can often go below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

And this makes it very difficult to work outside and to engage in activities such as mining and fishing.

But also on the other hand, in terms of the summer temperatures, well, recent summer heat waves, possibly climate change driven, are happening more frequently in Canada's Northern Territories.

Recently temperatures rose to over 30 degrees Celsius causing wildfires and melting permafrost.

What about inaccessibility? Well, Northern Canada is remote and inaccessible with few major roads, as the one in front of you does a great job in actually illustrating.

Many of these roads are only passable with four-wheel drive vehicles, and its remote location slows delivery and increase costs.

Access to equipment and machinery for construction is therefore extremely challenging.

And frozen winter ice roads are stable and can be used, but climate change and melting permafrost is reducing the months that these ice roads are actually usable since they become rather unstable and they're therefore dangerous.

Now one solution to this infrastructure problem was found in 2017 when the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway was built, which is a 138 kilometre all-season gravel road, which connected Inuvik with Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.

It costs $300 million and it provides the first all weather road access to Canada's Arctic Ocean Coast, which allows for economic activity to occur.

So the few ice roads in the area were not always suitable for transportation and materials, meaning goods had to be shipped by plane or ship, which led to higher costs.

The construction of the highway that you can see in front of you took over four years to occur due to the challenges created by seasonal weather.

It was expensive to build and maintain due to its remote location.

And again, it speaks volumes about the challenges to development in these areas.

As Sofia says, "Building in such an extreme environment must be very difficult.

What challenges are actually faced there?" Well, first of all, the infrastructure which does exist there is unfortunately outdated.

For example, Nunavuk's drinking water falls below Canadian standard and some communities don't even have piped water at all.

With no grid electricity found there, the 100,000 inhabitants of Canada's Northern Territories rely on diesel generators for power and heating, and this thereby limits the number of people that can actually live and visit there, and thereby reduces the tourism industry which can grow there to support those local people economically.

What about provision of buildings? What sort of challenges exist within that? Well, the extreme weather, so the cold winters, the short hours of daylight within winter, and permafrost makes labour and construction extremely difficult.

The remote locations and the need to recognise local cultures also limits the amount of construction which can actually happen.

The design and surveying can take a long time in remote locations, which slows down the construction of buildings.

And finally, the outdoor construction is restricted to those short summer months when outdoor labour can actually occur.

So we're thinking about the months between July and October.

So a quick learning check.

It says to match the characteristics of Northern Canada to the challenges they produce for development.

So on the left hand side, you can see the characteristic and on the right hand side then you can see the challenge.

What I need you to do then is pause the video here whilst you try to match those two together.

Best of luck.

And the correct answers were: So, winter temperatures at minus 30 degrees makes it difficult to work outside in activities such as mining and fishing.

Melting permafrost caused by climate change can make road surfaces unstable.

The lack of infrastructure, including electricity, limits the number of people that can live and visit there.

And finally, remote locations in the Northern Territories makes transporting people and materials over long distances not viable.

Really, really well done if you too were able to match those correctly.

We're on now to our one and only practise task for our final learning cycle.

And it says to suggest the challenges of developing this land that you can see in front of you in Northern Canada for either mining or tourism.

You need to make use of specific facts about Northern Canada in your answer.

So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video here whilst you attempt this practise task.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback then, your answer could have included the following: We're first gonna look at mining.

So challenges from extracting minerals would include the very cold winter temperatures in particular, which can reach as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Such extreme temperatures make working outside very difficult and dangerous in winter without protection.

Another challenge would be accessibility.

Northern Canada is very large, covering 4 million kilometres squared.

If the photo shows a remote location, then a lot of money would have to have been spent on building roads to reach it, and transportation in and out of the site.

In terms of tourism, then, well, again your answer could have included the following: Challenges from tourism would include the lack of infrastructure, in particular the lack of access to the electrical grid and piped water.

100,000 inhabitants rely on diesel generators for electricity.

Extreme winter temperatures and the challenges of a remote inaccessible location could make bringing tourism infrastructure to the area extremely challenging.

It therefore limits the number of people that can live or visit there and thereby limits the tourism industry from growing.

Really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our learning summary and what do we need to know from today's lesson? Well, the cold environments, which include polar and tundra biomes of Northern Canada, are found in the northern North America, generally on or north of the Arctic Circle, which is 66.

5 degrees North.

The region has an extremely cold climate with winter low temperatures of minus 30 degrees and a high in the summer of just 12 degrees Celsius.

In terms of opportunities for development found there, well, there are things such as mineral extraction, so mining of diamonds, nickel and iron as well as many other minerals, tourism, energy production including oil, solar and wind, and finally fishing.

But what though are the challenges? Well, extreme temperatures, those cold winter temperatures are a huge challenge for development in that region.

The lack of infrastructure based on its remote location, which also affects inaccessibility as well as its remote location, once again, in Northern Canada.

And finally, the provision of buildings is extremely difficult, once again linking back to those extreme temperatures.

So really, really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you and I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.