Our organization
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What we do
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), established in 2009, works to help develop diversified, sustainable, and dynamic economies across Canada's territories, while also contributing to Canada's economic prosperity.
Because partnerships are central to CanNor's efforts to harness the full economic potential of the territories, CanNor works with Northerners, Indigenous groups, communities, businesses, organizations, and other federal departments to help foster long-term economic sustainability in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.
CanNor's key interrelated business lines and services help drive territorial economic development:
- Advocating for economic development in the North and serving as a voice for northern needs in federal processes
- Strengthening business and community development by delivering a suite of funding programs that promote recovery, growth and innovation, and
- Through the Northern Projects Management Office, coordinating federal participation in regulatory review processes and Crown consultation with Indigenous peoples for major resource and infrastructure projects.
As the regional development agency for the North, CanNor has a key role in helping unlock business potential and helping develop key economic sectors, such as mining, tourism, fisheries, renewable energy, arts and culture, community and business development, food security and Indigenous economic development.
Visit the Programs and services page for more information.
Our president
Paula Isaak, President – Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor)
Paula Isaak became president of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency on 9 October 2018.
Paula Isaak became president of CanNor on October 9, 2018, and she additionally took on the role of Associate Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada on March 3, 2021. Throughout her 30 year public service career, Paula has worked on Northern and Indigenous issues. She began her career in Ottawa but soon developed a strong interest in "on-the-ground" regional issues that took her to positions in a variety of places from coast to coast to coast. She has had the privilege to live and work in almost every province and territory, including working in four regional offices: Quebec, Atlantic, British Columbia, and Yukon, and at CanNor Headquarters in Iqaluit, Nunavut. During the course of her career, Paula has focused on issues such as land claim and self-government negotiation, economic development, program delivery, and natural resource management. Paula developed a number of areas of expertise including negotiations on Indigenous land claims in the Yukon and Northwest Territories; policy and program development for economic development, intergovernmental affairs, natural resources, and environmental management; and education and social issues. She has led teams at all levels on complex, high-profile issues from negotiating legislation with Indigenous organizations to designing the MMIWG Inquiry. A proud Manitoban, Paula received her Undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Manitoba and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Carleton University.