Breaking the Ice

In this episode of Arctic360’s Breaking the Ice 2026 Summer Series, we tackle the dollars behind defence and discuss how Canada, Europe, and their allies are mobilizing private capital to build defence and dual-use capabilities for the future.

To unpack the role of institutional investors, pensions funds, and public banks in financing the defence industrial base, co-hosts Jessica Shadian, President & CEO of Arctic360, and intern Ruofan Lin are joined by:

• Rudolf Siebel, Managing Director, BVI German Fund Association
• Oliver Cusworth, Senior Policy Advisor, Security & Defence Office, European Investment Bank Group
• Thomas Ashcroft, Policy Lead, Global Issues, RBC Thought Leadership

Welcome to Arctic360’s 2026 summer season, Breaking the Ice podcast series: 'The Summer of Arctic Defence, Development, Diplomacy, and Dollars.'

Join President and CEO, Jessica Shadian and this Summer's M.A. Munk School Interns, Henry Chen and Ruofan Lin, as they deep dive into the big issues facing the Arctic today.

A big thank you to Tulugkat for the permission to use their music!

President and CEO of Arctic360 and Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations, Rebecca Alty discuss Prime Minister Carney’s March 12, 2026 Announcement on Defending, Building, And Transforming The North. They talk about the announcement’s significance for the North, the current context, and what will be required to go from announcement to project completion. They confirm that the Minister is not 100 years old and they end with takeaways about what this moment means for Northerners and what the North means for Canada as an Arctic nation in a region central to the big issues driving global geopolitics today.

In this episode of Breaking the Ice, we explore one of the most urgent but least discussed dimensions of Arctic nation-building: the digital, energy, and data infrastructure required to secure Canada’s North for the next 50 years.

To unpack how Canada can build a smart Arctic, Co-hosts Jessica Shadian, Mishal Khan, and Jaiden Stevens are joined by:

• Madeleine Redfern, COO, CanArctic Inuit Networks; CEO, SednaLink Marine Systems; Executive Director, Arctic360 Northern Branch

• Lyle Fabian, CEO, KatloTech Communications

• Captain Satinder Singh, Vice President Marine, PortsToronto

Greenland’s diplomatic presence has grown steadily over the past three decades—from Brussels to Washington, Iceland, Beijing, and a soon to come dedicated representation to Canada in Ottawa.

In this episode of Breaking the Ice, Arctic360 co-hosts co-hosts Jessica Shadian and Sofie Poggendorf speak with Inuuteq Holm Olsen, former Greenlandic Representative to the US and Canada, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s current Representative to both countries, about Greenland’s evolving role in international affairs and what may be on the horizon for Greenland-Canada diplomatic cooperation.

As NATO’s turns its focus to strengthening its Northern Flank including preparedness for cold weather operations and the cold weather innovations to do so, could Canada's path to being strong on defence and the economy be innovating out of the Arctic?

We spoke with Glenn Cowan, CEO, One9; Kevin Reed, President and COO, Defence, Security & Resilience Bank; Dr. Jackie Dawson, University of Ottawa /Researcher in Residence, Office of the Chief Science Advisor, Government of Canada; and Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, Partner, NATO Innovation Fund to find out.

On the heels of the NATO’s June Summit, Arctic360’s ‘Breaking the Ice’ summer podcast series launches with a discussion on NATO, Europe, and collaboration with Canada on Arctic Defence and Security.

Co-hosts Jessica Shadian, President & CEO of Arctic360, Sofie Poggendorf, and Alexandra Paul were fortunate and grateful to be joined by the EU Ambassador to Canada, Geneviève Tuts; German Ambassador to Canada Matthias Lüttenberg; and UK High Commissioner to Canada, Robert Tinline.

Welcome back to Breaking the Ice!

As we do each summer, we’re bringing together the brightest minds from the North, working in the North, or on the North, from across the circumpolar world and beyond. Our theme for 2025, “The Summer of Arctic Security, Infrastructure & Innovation,” gives us the extraordinary opportunity to Discuss both the issues we know best and the big issues on the table when it comes to Canada’s North and the Arctic region at large.

🎙️This year’s co-hosts are:

Jaiden Stevens – Carleton University Journalism student from Norman Wells, specializing in Northern storytelling, media, and community voices

Asma Awan – Munk School MGA student and civil servant with expertise in policy innovation

Mishal Khan – Munk School MGA candidate with experience in global development and SDGs

Alexandra Paul – Master of International Security (Sciences Po Paris), specializing in global risk analysis and environment and sustainability

Sofie Poggendorf – Dual MGA candidate (Hertie & Munk), with a background in climate and Indigenous community research

📡Follow Arctic360 on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest podcast episodes and Arctic360 content.

🔗You can find us on all streaming platforms, LinkedIn, and Twitter, or you can visit our website at arctic360.org.

#BreakingTheIce #Arctic360 #ArcticSecurity #SmartInfrastructure #ArcticInnovation #CircumpolarNorth #InfrastructureDevelopment #ArcticResearch #ColdWeatherTech #ArcticPolicy

In this episode of Breaking the Ice, we were joined by two leading experts on Arctic governance and defence: Dr. Rebecca Pincus, Director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center, and Dr. Andrea Charron, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba. We discussed the complex dynamics shaping Canada-US Arctic relations, particularly around UNCLOS, maritime boundaries, and growing geopolitical competition in the region.

This week on Breaking the ice, we are launching our new Podcast Series 'Around the Arctic'! Hosts, Nauja Bianco, Criag Fleener, Jessica Shadian, and Jaiden Stevens, are going to bring to you what they do best by taking their cross-border conversations from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland from the coffee shop and happy hour to the podcast space.

Each week, they will discuss, argue, contemplate, and share news, politics, and stories of the week from in and around the Arctic. So grab your coffee or spirits (its always apero time somewhere!), and join us where talking Arctic comes to life!