Military History of the Canadian Arctic

Ken Johnson presents a look back at the “Military History of the Canadian Arctic” beginning with the epic Klondike Gold Rush and the paramilitary Northwest Mounted Police positioning a Maxim machine gun in the White Pass as a deterrent to unruly behaviour in the 22,000, mostly American, “stampeders”.

Moving forward in history Ken will talk about the Alaska Highway and other Canadian Arctic activities that occurred in support of World War 2. The end of the 1940’s was a turning point for Canadian Arctic miliary activity with legacies that remain to this day such as the RCAF Station at Resolute Bay, and the formation of the Arctic Rangers, an Inuit and First Nations based group defending Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty. In the 1950’s the DEW construction was an unprecedented construction project that covered the Canadian Arctic from east to west, and Canadian Forces Station Alert, at the Top of the World still provides that best geography for listening to the military airwaves outside of Canada. The Canadian Arctic remains a vital and strategic geography for Canada’s military interests.

Presenter:

Ken Johnson, MASc, RPP, FCAE, P.Eng. (NAPEG Life Member)

EXP | Planner and Engineer, Director of Arctic Engineering

Ken Johnson is an engineer, planner and occasional historian with almost 40 years of continuous working in the Canadian Arctic. Ken first ventured to the Arctic almost 50 years ago as an undergraduate civil engineering student. Since 1987 he has been working full time in the Arctic with periods of residence and work in all three territories. Ken’s interest in Arctic history has been a “passion” for the past 30 years with technical papers, presentations and CSCE history dedications associated with six Arctic projects. Ken was the recipient of the CSCE’s history award in 2018.

Dinner Location

University of Alberta

The University Club

11435 Saskatchewan Drive

Dinner Schedule

Registration & Networking 5:30

Buffet Dinner 6:30

Presentation 7:30

Closing Remarks 8:30

Dinner Rates

Members & Sponsors $50

Students $25

Non-Members $65

Sponsoring companies can redeem their complementary dinner tickets by registering for sponsor dinner ticket option. Please note pre-registration is required so we can have headcount for the dinner.

Note: If you have sponsored CSCE Edmonton and have not yet received your complimentary sponsor tickets, please email chair@csceedmonton.ca to get access to use them in advance.