Hans Island

Hans Island 'whisky war' – described by some as a 'pseudo-confrontation' – ends after formal division agreed.

In 2002, Nana Flensburg was part of a Danish military crew that stood on the cliff to perform a flag-raising ceremony. Canada and Denmark agreed in 1973 to create a border through Nares Strait, halfway between Greenland and Canada. But they were unable to agree which country would have sovereignty over Hans Island, which lies about 1,100km (680 miles) south of the north pole. Now, however, the so-called “whisky war”, which was never really a conflict at all, has finally been resolved with the formal division of a tiny barren Arctic island between Canada and Denmark.

OTTAWA - A deal has been reached settling a dispute with Denmark over a 1.3-square-kilometre island in the Arc...

The new border ends one of the most passive aggressive boundary disputes in history.

Ottawa was reportedly hoping to unveil the new border on June 14 and celebrate it as a shining example of sovereign countries resolving their border disputes peacefully. Whenever the Canadian or Danish militaries were in the area, they would make a point of stopping at Hans Island, tearing down the rival nations’ flag and hoisting their own. Article content The former Dominion entered confederation that year as Canada’s 10th province, effectively erasing the international boundary between Quebec and Labrador. Article content Article content

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Canada and Denmark have resolved the dispute over Hans Island, which has been fought with bottles of booze.

By finally agreeing to share the island, Denmark and Canada will now have a second border. In 1983, Canada issued a land-use permit for Hans Island to a petroleum company to research the effect of sea ice on drilling rigs. Then, Canada and Denmark decided to draw a line between the two countries down the middle of Nares Strait, the waterway between them.

Canada and Denmark have reached an agreement to divide a tiny uninhabited island in the Arctic, ending a nearly 50-year-long international dispute between ...

"The dispute between Canada and Denmark over Tartupaluk or Hans Island has never caused issues for Inuit," said Kotierk in a media statement. Breum visited the island by helicopter in 2018 and describes it as a "beautiful," desolate piece of history. Michael Byers, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, has been calling for a peaceful resolution to the dispute for decades. Byers says the two countries decided to draw a line along a geological feature that can be seen on satellite images. Russia has planted flags staking claims to the Arctic region. "It's possible this will become a tourist destination." And then knowing that you are on top of the 50-year-old conflict of international magnitude is really odd because there's nothing there. One will be Canadian, the other will be part of Greenland which is part of the Danish kingdom. Martin Breum, a Copenhagen journalist and expert on the Arctic, said he's been briefed by government officials in Denmark on parts of the deal. The move comes as NATO allies have joined together in a united front against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. "It's not exactly a 50/50 share," he said. The Canadian government posted an order-in-council this week confirming the Hans Island deal.

Long standing dispute over remote Arctic island seems to have finally been settled following decades of strife and playful gestures . Denmark to get a land ...

The two nations have apparently drawn a border across Hans Island (or Tartupaluk in Inuit), dividing it between Greenland and the Canadian territory of Nunavut – an interesting side note is that Greenland is the biggest electoral district in the world … followed by Nunavut. But reports suggest that an agreement over the island has finally been reached and the two countries are due to unveil the news on June 14 as an example of how border disputes can be peacefully resolved. A tiny 1.3 sqm rock located in the Arctic passage between Greenland and Denmark, the island has been a thorn in the side of relations between Denmark and Canada for decades.

Canada's international border with the United States is the longest in the world, and the country's only land border, but that's about to change as...

If you're coming from Greenland, the closest populated place is Qaanaaq, 379 kilometres away, with a comparatively large population of over 650. The report claims a settlement will be unveiled on June 14, ending a low-intensity border dispute simmering since the early 1970s. You will soon be able to walk to Greenland from Canada across a new land border

After decades of dispute, Canada and Denmark have settled a border spat between the two countries.

But the passive-aggressive move has come to an end thanks to the arrangement made this week. The Canadian side typically leaves a bottle of whisky, and the Danes leave a bottle of akvavit. But in the past forty years, representatives from both countries have intermittently visited the island to leave behind a flag and a bottle of spirits.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada over a...

with documents that informed about previous visits to the island.” The Politiken newspaper on Tuesday quote her as saying in her diary that "among the stones in the cairns were lots of bottles, glasses, etc. Since then, the countries have in turns hoisted their flags and left bottles of various spirits in tit-for-tat moves.

Denmark and Canada will divide the small, uninhabited island in the Arctic known as Hans Island, ending an almost 50-year long ownership spat, ...

The deal will be formally signed by ministers from both countries following parliamentary approval. It's called Tartupaluk in Greenlandic, which translates to "kidney shaped". Whether that is realistic as long as Russia is involved, I don't know," military historian at the Royal Danish Defence College, Soren Norby, told Reuters.

News item: Reports say Canada and Denmark will today announce a resolution to a 50-year-old dispute over who owns Hans Island, a tiny, barren, ...

In the end, cooler heads prevailed and it was decided to let the referees sort things out. In 1872, arbitrators led by German Emperor Wilhelm I sided with the U.S., and that was that. The opposing forces kept building until both benches emptied, sticks and gloves all over the ice, though nobody threw any punches. We spend all our time fussing about our rambunctious neighbours to the south, yet it seems the real menace is the quiet guy upstairs, the one we never think about. The Pig War was ignited 163 years ago tomorrow, on June 15, 1859. Actually, it was Canada that got aggressive in 2005. (I think I saw him put his hand on Greenland’s girlfriend’s butt, too.) It was the culmination of a smouldering disagreement over whether the islands between Haro and Rosario straits belonged to Britain or the U.S. (Indigenous inhabitants might have had a third option, but they weren’t consulted.) It was the sort of move you could get away with when the opponent is a lightweight like Greenland. But what about the U.S.? Who knew Greenland was such a threat? Got to admit Canadians don’t know much about Greenland. It might be twice the size of B.C., and it might only be 15 kilometres from Canada in places, but its population of 57,000 is only half that of Saanich. OK, the Hans Island fuss was less a battle than a long-running property-line disagreement with a neighbour many of us didn’t know we had.

A deal has been reached settling a dispute with Denmark over a 1.3-square-kilometre island in the Arctic and is expected to be signed today, according to a ...

An 11-year-old Ontario boy has been found deceased in a river after wandering away from his home Sunday afternoon. 1 hr ago An 11-year-old Ontario boy has been found deceased in a river after wandering away from his home Sunday afternoon. 1 hr ago 1 hr ago Here's a snapshot of who each candidate is, their political histories, and what kind of campaign they're running. Trudeau announced Tuesday morning that the confidence-and-supply agreement has been brokered, and is effective immediately. Not too conservative.' The stunning leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion to strike down the landmark Roe v. Six candidates are on the ballot to become the Conservative Party's next leader. In 2005, Canada's defence minister Bill Graham went for a walk on Hans Island in a symbolic move. Later that year, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs visited by helicopter, planting a Danish flag.

The agreement is expected to divide the uninhabited island between Ellesmere Island, in Nunavut, and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. Vandal, speaking ...

In 2005, Canada's defence minister Bill Graham went for a walk on Hans Island in a symbolic move. Later that year, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs visited by helicopter, planting a Danish flag. He also left a bottle of aquavit, a Danish spirit, at the base on the flagpole and is reported to have left a note saying “welcome to the Danish Island.” In 1988, a Danish Arctic Ocean patrol ship arrived and built a cairn with a flagpole and Danish flag on the island. He said “discussions have been going on for a long time” and “the important part is that the deal got done and we are going to have the signing tomorrow.” In 1984, Canada planted a flag on the island and left a bottle of Canadian whisky.

For decades, Canada and Denmark disagreed over the ownership of Hans Island, between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. On June 13, 2022, both countries ...

Hans Island is helpfully compared to Sprogø, a tiny island in the Great Belt between Funen and Zealand.) It all started in 1984, when Canadians left a Canadian flag and a bottle of Canada Club whisky on the island, as a way of marking Hans Island as their territory. The world’s newest land border is about 3/4 mile (1.2 km) long and mirrors a gorge that runs across the island from north to south. Ellesmere Island is Canada’s northernmost island and part of Nunavut, the country’s newest territory (since 1999), where the indigenous Inuit exercise political autonomy. Until June 11, Canada and Denmark belonged to the relatively small club of countries who share a land border with just one other country. But avid followers of obscure border disputes will know this has to do with Hans Island.

The craggy outcropping — Tartupaluk in Inuit — lies between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Story continues below ...

“Denmark’s soldiers land on Canadian Arctic territory, hoist their flag, claim the island as their own and Canada does nothing,” one Conservative lawmaker charged in 2004. Huebert said there is a “pretty remote” possibility that there are natural resources such as oil and gas on the island, but noted there haven’t really been serious efforts to look. The Canadians also have made appearances, replacing the Danish liquor with Canadian whisky, erecting an inukshuk — a stone marker — and hoisting the maple leaf. “In contrast, we have demonstrated how long-standing international disputes can be resolved peacefully and playing by the rules.” The craggy outcropping — Tartupaluk in Inuit — lies between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Denmark gets about 60 percent of the island; Canada gets the rest.

Hans Island is uninhabitable and only half-a-square-mile wide. So how did it become the center of a decades-long territorial debate?

Referring to the “pressure” put on democratic society by violent territorial disputes—a clear nod to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine—Kofod said the peaceful deal is an important step for the international community. But the dispute had a serious side, especially given the threat of climate change, Arctic drilling, and Canadian military exercises in the region. Conducted by both officials and civilians, the ritual has left “a sea of slightly tattered flags and notices” on the island, writes BBC News’ Matt Murphy. Though the visit was legal, the resulting article in a Greenlandic newspaper drew the attention of both Danish and Canadian authorities. And though the nations agreed on an official dividing line in a 1973 treaty, they were unable to come to a compromise on Hans. Known by Inuits as Tartupaluk (“kidney” in Greenlandic) based on its shape, the island was used by Indigenous Canadians and Greenlanders for centuries as a hunting ground for polar bears and other game.

A 50-year-long border dispute over an uninhabited Arctic island is drawing to a close as Denmark and Canada agree to end the so-called "Whisky War".

- Canada and Denmark plan to divide the disputed Hans Island into equal halves A 50-year-long border dispute over an uninhabited Arctic island is drawing to a close as Denmark and Canada agree to end the so-called "Whisky War". Canada and Denmark look to end their long-running dispute over Hans Island

Copenhagen, Denmark — A territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada over a barren and uninhabited rock in the Arctic that has led to decades of friendly ...

The agreement enters into force after the two countries’ internal procedures have been completed. The Politiken newspaper on Tuesday quote her as saying in her diary that “among the stones in the cairns were lots of bottles, glasses, etc. Since then, the countries have in turns hoisted their flags and left bottles of various spirits in a sort of tot-for-tot dispute. with documents that informed about previous visits to the island.” In 1984, Denmark’s minister of Greenland affairs raised a Danish flag on the island, buried a bottle of Danish schnapps at the base of the flagpole and left a note saying, “Welcome to the Danish island.” Canadians then planted their own flag and left a bottle of Canadian brandy. “It sends a clear signal that it is possible to resolve border disputes ... in a pragmatic and peaceful way, where the all parties become winners,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. He said it was “an important signal now that there is much war and unrest in the world.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has struck a historic deal with Denmark, settling a dispute stretching back five decades over a 1.3-square-kilometre ...

Stay-at-home measures previously put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more important for families to have space to both live and work while at home. The Canadian government is dropping the requirement that domestic and outbound international travellers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, effective June 20. The Canadian government is dropping the requirement that domestic and outbound international travellers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, effective June 20. CTVNews.ca has a guide to the current COVID-19 rules around travel as well as what's changing. The Canadian government is dropping the requirement that domestic and outbound international travellers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, effective June 20. CTVNews.ca has a guide to the current COVID-19 rules around travel as well as what's changing. Trudeau announced Tuesday morning that the confidence-and-supply agreement has been brokered, and is effective immediately. The stunning leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion to strike down the landmark Roe v. In 2005, defence minister Bill Graham went for a walk on Hans Island in a symbolic move. Later that year, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs visited by helicopter, planting a Danish flag. I hope that our negotiation and the spirit of this agreement may inspire others." "Inuit have long used Hans Island as a staging point for hunting," she said.