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Mackenzie Valley Highway promises year-round access to Canada's North

Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson links Ottawa's road commitment to living costs and Arctic security, while backing an end to the offshore drilling moratorium.

Channel: CBC News ·

CanadaStory of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

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What the Mackenzie Valley Highway will mean for the Northwest Territories | Power & Politics

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0:00The budget funds Arctic resource governance, but Dabrusin says it makes no decision on lifting the drilling moratorium.
0:36Ottawa commits C$3.1 billion to an all-season Mackenzie Valley Highway; the map shows Wrigley to Inuvik.
1:15Simpson supports lifting the moratorium, arguing northern and Indigenous peoples have a say in resource development.
2:39Simpson cites substantial commercial spending commitments made before the moratorium as evidence of earlier industry interest.
3:33He links the highway to community access, high living costs and year-round access to a northern military installation.
6:23Simpson says he looks forward to driving the highway in 2032.

An all-season road through the Mackenzie Valley would change more than the journey north, Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson says: it would connect remote communities, improve military access and address the isolation behind high living costs.

Canada's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) News examines those promises in its Power & Politics interview with Simpson. Host J.P. Tasker outlines a federal budget commitment of C$3.1 billion for an 800-kilometer highway, with an on-screen map identifying the route from Wrigley to Inuvik.

Simpson says the road would connect communities in a region he describes as having Canada's highest cost of living. He also points to a military installation north of the Arctic Circle that cannot currently be reached by road year-round. For him, the project brings everyday transportation needs and Canada's Arctic defense priorities together.

The interview also draws a distinction between funding northern resource governance and authorizing drilling. Tasker reports that the budget provides C$11 million for Arctic oil and gas governance. But Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin makes clear in an earlier interview clip: "There's no decision on the moratorium in this budget."

Simpson wants that moratorium lifted. He argues that northern and Indigenous peoples now have a say in resource development, and cites commercial commitments exceeding a billion dollars before the restriction took effect as evidence of earlier industry interest. That is his case for reopening the opportunity, not an announcement that drilling will resume.

On the highway, Simpson urges Ottawa to turn favorable federal backing and concern about Arctic security into progress. He says people have advocated for the road for decades and describes direct discussions with the prime minister as encouraging. His hoped-for opening is around 2032, a date he presents as a personal ambition to drive the route, rather than a completed construction milestone.

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