OTTAWA – An agreement has been reached to settle a dispute with Denmark over a 1.3-square-kilometer island in the Arctic and is expected to be signed today, according to a government minister.
Dan Vandal, the Nordic minister, confirmed on Monday that there would be a “formal signing” of the Hans Island agreement on Tuesday.
The barren rock has been the subject of decades of diplomatic disputes between the two nations, as it is in the territorial waters of both.
The agreement is expected to divide the uninhabited island between Elsmere Island, in Nunavut, and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Vandal said he was “looking forward” to the signing of the agreement and would attend the ceremony.
He said that “discussions have been going on for a long time” and “the important thing is that the deal is concluded and we will have the signing tomorrow.”
“I think this is very positive given the situation in the world today,” he said.
The deal probably means that Canada shares a land border with Denmark for the first time.
The dispute over the small island led to a good-natured clash between Canada and Denmark in the 1980s over which country rightfully owns it.
In 1984, Canada hoisted a flag on the island and left a bottle of Canadian whiskey.
Later that year, the Greenlandic Minister of Denmark visited Denmark by helicopter, hoisting a Danish flag. He also left a bottle of aquavit, Danish alcohol, at the base of the flagpole and reportedly left a note reading “Welcome to the Danish island”.
In 1988, a Danish patrol ship arrived in the Arctic Ocean and built a pyramid on the island with a flagpole and a Danish flag.
Then in 2001, Canadian geologists mapping the northern island of Elsmere flew there by helicopter.
In 2005, Canadian Secretary of Defense Bill Graham went for a walk on the island of Hans in a symbolic procession. A week before he set foot there, Canadian forces hoisted a Canadian flag and plaque on the island, sparking a protest from Denmark that called on the Canadian ambassador.
In 2005, the two sides agreed to resume talks on the island with former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, saying it was “time to end the flag war”.
Both sides agreed that if they failed to reach an agreement, they would take it to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for resolution.
The island is called Tartupaluk in Inuktitut and Greenland and has been part of Inuit hunting grounds for centuries.
Denmark and Canada are NATO allies and both participate in the Arctic Council. The two nations have recently been cooperating closely on the war in Ukraine, including aid programs for women and girls fleeing the conflict.
A spokesman for the foreign minister, Jolie, declined to comment.
But Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard Joyce Murray said the talks were “an indication of the strong partnership and friendship we have with Denmark”.
Conservative foreign critic Michael Chong said the deal was “a demonstration of how countries that are worthy members of our international system can work together to resolve disputes over international borders.”
“Few things are more sacred in maintaining international order than ensuring that we respect each other’s international borders,” Chong said.
NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson told reporters Monday that the agreement is a sign of greater international co-operation on Arctic issues.
“The countries on the Arctic border have an obligation to work together, and that’s just one of the signs that we’re doing this,” she said.
She joked that the deal could mean that Canada could now qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest.
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