Introduction: Critical perspectives on extractive industries in Northern Canada

This essay introduces a special section on extractive industries in northern Canada, with a special focus on mining. The papers in the special section reflect critically on the impact of mining on northern indigenous communities in Canada, and on the historical environmental changes associated with the industry. Drawing on historical and contemporary cases studies of community responses to mining at the production and remediation phase of development, the papers suggest collectively that historical conflicts over mining development can influence contemporary responses to large-scale projects. The introductory essay provides a brief historical summary of mining in northern Canada, and a critical analysis of major themes in the literature. The essay connects the regional and local case study papers in the special sections with much broader themes in the scholarly literature on mining in Northern Canada and elsewhere.