Who Owns the Northwest Passage?

MIKE POMPEO, America’s secretary of state, raised Canadian hackles earlier this month when he said during a speech in Finland that Canada’s claim to the Northwest Passage was “illegitimate”. America has long maintained that the Northwest Passage, which has up to seven different routes, is an international strait through which its commercial and military vessels have the right to pass without seeking Canada’s permission. Canada, which officially acquired the archipelago along with Britain’s remaining possessions in North America in 1880, claims sovereignty over the passage because all of its routes run between islands that are Canadian territory.

Source: www.economist.com