Stephen Harper concerned by Russia's growing military presence in Arctic

Russia's growing military presence in the Arctic is a concern and Canada should not get complacent about it, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday during the second leg of his annual northern tour.

Harper, who was in the Northwest Territories town of Fort Smith to announce initiatives to promote fresh food production in the region, said Russia has not made the same sort of aggressive military incursions in the Arctic as it has in Eastern Europe.

• 'Is he just passing by?' Harper continues Northern tour

But the prime minister gave a "cautious yes" when asked if he was concerned about the militarization of the Arctic.

"Cautious in the following sense: that we haven't seen, obviously, the kind of aggressive moves in the Arctic that we have seen in eastern Europe by the Russians," Harper said. 

"In fact, we have actually seen the Russian government ... actually operating within international rules. 

"However, I don't think — because of what's happening elsewhere and because of what's happened for many years now — we should be complacent about this."

Russian planes testing Canadian boundaries

Russia is busy rebuilding former Soviet-era military bases in its north, and has a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and icebreakers patrolling its waters. Russian planes have also tested the boundaries of Canadian airspace, Harper said.

"I just think we should not be complacent, because we have seen over the period that President Putin has been in power just a gradual growing in aggressiveness of his government toward neighbours and the gradual military assertiveness of that country, and I just think it's something we should never be too at ease about," he said.

In the coming days, the prime minister will take part in a series of military manoeuvres in the Northwest Passage meant to assert Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

Harper also called on Russia to withdraw a convoy of trucks that crossed across its border into Ukraine in what Moscow said was part of a humanitarian mission but which the Ukrainians called a "direct invasion."

Earlier, the prime minister said the federal government will spend $2 million to build a permanent campus for the Northern Farm Training Institute in the Northwest Territories town of Hay River.

The money will let the two-year-old school run programs year-round from a campus set on 300 acres of farmland with greenhouses, offices and classrooms.

A news release said the school could earn extra money by selling its produce and flowers.

Harper also said up to $2 million will be spent on an initiative that's meant to commercialize and enhance the productivity of greenhouse projects across the North.