Among my first memories coming to the North and working for NNSL Media over a decade ago was hearing former Dene national chief Bill Erasmus saying something to the effect that when the Americans have an insatiable desire for water and resources and look northward, the treaties will ensure that they remain locally owned and controlled.

At the time, it felt like a distant concern. But heading into this federal election, it seems his insight may have arrived sooner than expected.

CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 sovereignty SA国际影视传媒� grounded in historic treaties between the Crown and Indigenous nations SA国际影视传媒� now feels under pressure, not only from internal uncertainty but from hostile signals from Washington.

Here in the Northwest Territories, we have four declared candidates: Rebecca Alty for the Liberals, Kim Fairman for the Conservatives, Kelvin Kotchilea for the NDP and Rainbow Eyes for the Greens. Only Alty and Kotchilea showed up to the Cabin Radio debate on April 10. In many elections, Northerners understandably ask what we can get from Ottawa. But this time, the question should be: What do we need to assert?

The North should not approach this election as business as usual. The paramount responsibility for the next member of Parliament must be to uphold and defend the treaties, self-government agreements and ongoing processes that define this territory. These are not merely regional concerns SA国际影视传媒� they are cornerstones of Canada's national integrity.

This is especially important now, as more than at any time in my lifetime, Canada seems rudderless. A sizable portion of the population holds a deep distrust of the Crown, and there are growing political movements in the West, especially in Alberta, that seem to entertain ideas of secession. On the global stage, the order is fracturing as the United States SA国际影视传媒� facing its own political instability SA国际影视传媒� seems to be pulling away from international institutions like the United Nations and NATO. American rhetoric is conjuring up a Monroe Doctrine-style revival, even eyeing Greenland and, potentially, Canada.

In such a world, who speaks for the Canadian Arctic? What will it mean for Indigenous rights, sovereignty over water and resources, or the legacy of international treaties on climate or legal frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?

In the Cabin Radio debate, Alty and Kotchilea offered overlapping visions SA国际影视传媒� but itSA国际影视传媒檚 not yet clear how some of these ideas will translate into real leadership and national-level decisions. We may soon see Canada pushed to increase its defence spending to five per cent of GDP in just a few years. And with global tensions rising, there is a higher likelihood than most elections in recent memory that the next federal term could coincide with an extended international conflict.

ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 why a Northern voice must be sent to Ottawa and expressed at the cabinet table SA国际影视传媒� not lost in the backbenches, as we've seen in previous governments. We canSA国际影视传媒檛 afford another term of limited visibility in Ottawa.This may require setting aside strict partisanship and working across political lines to ensure Northern priorities are championed smartly and consistently.

However the NWT votes on April 28, I hope itSA国际影视传媒檚 with conviction and full awareness of the broader stakes. As the Grail Knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: SA国际影视传媒淵ou must choose, but choose wisely. For as the true Grail will bring you life, a false one will take it from you.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒擜n NWT resident since 2011, Simon Whitehouse is a former NNSL reporter, a coffee consumer and a deep thinker on issues facing the Northwest Territories.