Nunavut wants Canada to lift Arctic drilling moratorium, premier says

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CANADA-ARCTIC/OFFSHORE:Nunavut wants Canada to lift Arctic drilling moratorium, premier says

* Premier says Ottawa has the power to lift moratorium before current review expires in 2028

* Federal estimates put Nunavut's gas resources at more than 180 trillion cubic feet

* Premier says drilling proposals would still face regulatory, environmental and Indigenous consultations

CALGARY, - The government of Nunavut, one of Canada's three northern territories, wants a decade-long federal moratorium on Arctic offshore oil and gas exploration lifted to reduce the region's dependence on Ottawa and help fund essential public services, Premier John Main said in an interview on Thursday.

Nunavut possesses significant fossil fuel resources, including more than 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to federal estimates. Opening up the region to petroleum development could be a game-changer for a remote, sparsely populated territory that depends heavily on financial transfers from the federal government, Main said.

"Our government right now is very much struggling to meet the needs of our territory," Main said. "We have a housing crisis. We have a mental health and suicide crisis among the young people. We have terrible unemployment and the worst health indicators of anywhere in the country."

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been seeking to expand Canada's energy sector in order to boost the country's economy in the face of US tariffs. He has faced criticism from environmentalists for dropping or easing a range of climate regulations in pursuit of economic growth.

Carney said last week that his government had not decided whether to lift the Arctic oil and gas moratorium, after Canadian media reported the federal government was considering the move. The policy has been in place since 2016, when then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-US President Barack Obama agreed to impose it to protect the region's fragile marine ecosystem from the risk of oil spills.

But Main said the federal government is aware of Nunavut's position on the matter and could, if it wanted to…

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