The seven-decade quest to maximize Canada’s continental shelf

Abstract

For Canada, establishing sovereignty over its continental shelf resources has been a law of the sea priority since the Second World War. Large quantities of oil, gas, and minerals are contained in the seabed; hence, there is a strong economic imperative to establish coastal state jurisdiction. Historically, instead of taking unilateral actions, as many coastal states have, Canada has preferred multilateral channels. At the First and Second Conferences on the Law of the Sea, the Seabed Committee, and the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea, which produced the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Canada was a strong, effective advocate of coastal state rights. The convention’s provisions are highly advantageous to coastal states. Canada has incorporated these rights into its legislation, ratified the convention, spent over a decade mapping the seabed, and, in December 2013, filed a submission with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.