Canada to strengthen Arctic claim

Canada has said it will build two military facilities in the far north in a bid to assert its sovereignty over the contested Arctic region.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement during a tour of Canada’s northern territories.

It comes as a Danish mission prepares to sail to the North Pole to map the seabed under the ice.

Last week, a Russian expedition planted the country’s flag on the floor of the Arctic Ocean under the North Pole.