Joint Task Force (North)

Joint Task Force (North) (Force opérationnelle interarmées du nord) is responsible for all Canadian Forces operations and administration in northern Canada, namely the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the waters of the Arctic Ocean (within Canada) and Hudson Bay. JTF(N) is headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and is part of Canadian Joint Operations Command.

While Canadian military operations in the North date to the Yukon Field Force during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, its immediate history started with the formation of Canadian Forces Northern Area (CFNA) in 1970. CFNA's motto was Custos Borealis (Latin, "Northern Guardian").

Canadian Forces Northern Area was dissolved in 2006 and replaced by Joint Task Force North (JTFN) of the new Canada Command, commanded by Vice-Admiral J.Y. Forcier. JTF(N) is currently commanded by Brigadier-General J.J.R.G. Hamel, MSM, CD. JTF(N) has received increasing national attention in recent years with greater emphasis being made on Canada's claim to arctic sovereignty. Each summer, hundreds of Canadian soldiers participate in Operation Nanook, an annual display of sovereignty in Canada's northern latitudes. The exercise has been carried out in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Bases

 * CFS Alert: signals intelligence intercept facility
 * CFNA HQ Yellowknife: home to 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, 440 Transport Squadron, and depending on time of year, many cadet squadrons
 * CFNA HQ Whitehorse: home to Junior Rangers detachment
 * CF Detachment Nunavut: detachment office

Units

 * 440 (Transport) Squadron: based in Yellowknife and attached to 17 Wing at CFB Winnipeg

Closed

 * RCAF Station Frobisher Bay: built as a U.S. Air Force airfield and closed 1957; now Iqaluit Airport
 * RCAF Station Resolution Island: Pinetree Line station used by the U.S. Air Force 1954–1961; unmanned North Warning System radar site 1991–present
 * RCAF Station Resolute Bay: former U.S. Air Force airstrip; now Resolute Bay Airport
 * RCAF Station Whitehorse: refuelling station closed in 1968; now Lobird Trailer Court