CHURCHILL, MANITOBA — The largest northern patrol in the history of the Canadian Rangers ended Friday in Churchill, Manitoba, after covering 5,200 kilometres across the Arctic on a route that had not been attempted in 80 years. The mission ran from mid-February to the beginning of April as part of an annual Canadian Armed Forces operation to showcase Canada's military presence in the north.

A total of 1,300 military personnel took part in this year's operation. The patrol maintained a core group of 20 snowmobiles at any given time, with participants driving across ice-covered terrain, navigating blizzards and high winds while traveling for hours between remote northern communities. Some nights, participants camped on the ice in tents as temperatures plunged to -60C (-76F). On the final night at the frozen shores of Hudson Bay, participants camped next to an abandoned trading post under the northern lights.

Hazards during the patrol included polar bears, frostbite, and cold-weather dehydration. The mission aimed to survey the land, study climate change impacts, unlock new travel passageways, and test Arctic survival and warfare capabilities. Brig. Gen. Daniel Rivière said the mission was meant to prepare Canada for a worst-case scenario.

Indigenous Inuit members of the Canadian Rangers, who have deep knowledge of Canada's northern territories, played a central role. Inuit Rangers served as local guides from one hamlet to the next, and the patrol relied on more than a dozen Inuit communities for lodging along the route. Inuit members shared dried Arctic char and caribou, known as country food, with others during the patrol and lent gloves and boots made from coyote and caribou fur to anyone who became dangerously cold despite wearing modern winter gear.

Julia Elanik, an Inuk ranger from Aklavik in the Northwest Territories, drove the length of the patrol carrying a rifle for polar bear protection. Barnie Aggark, a Canadian Ranger from Chesterfield Inlet in Nunavut, guided the patrol through its final 500 kilometres.

The operation included international participation. A contingent from Greenland observed the Rangers in action, while army personnel from the U.S. and the U.K. were invited to monitor progress from a command centre in Edmonton. French and Belgian soldiers conducted ice-diving missions with the Canadian military.

Lt. Col. Travis Hanes said rivers that are normally frozen have overflowed in areas where they had not historically, creating layered, unstable ice sheets hazardous for winter travel. He said the winter was unusually cold, opening new passages over Arctic waters that had not previously frozen in recent memory.

The Canadian Arctic accounts for 40 percent of Canada's landmass and 70 percent of its coastline. Russia has dozens of permanent military bases in its Arctic region, while Canada has none, and joint exercises between Russia and China on international Arctic waters have increased. Rivière said that Russia remains a formidable force in the Arctic despite its ongoing war with Ukraine.