Canadian Chairmanship Program 2013-2015 15 May 2013Canada At the Kiruna Ministerial Meeting on 15 May 2013, Canada assumed the two-year Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Sweden. The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuk from Nunavut, is Canada’s Minister for the Arctic Council and Chair of the Council during Canada’s Chairmanship. Her appointment underlines the priority that the Government of Canada places on the Arctic as well as its commitment to ensure that the region’s future is in the hands of Northerners. Development for the people of the North More than four million people, living in the eight Arctic states that make up the Arctic Council, call the Arctic region home. Canada’s chairmanship will put Northerners first. The theme of Canada’s chairmanship is “development for the people of the North,” with a focus on responsible Arctic resource development, safe Arctic shipping and sustainable circumpolar communities. To learn more about the Arctic Council program during Canada’s chairmanship, download the brochure here.