Further evidence and reflections on Joseph Elzéar Bernier's 1907 and 1909 sovereignty claims

ABSTRACTFew aspects of Canada's Arctic sovereignty claims have been more misunderstood than the sector theory, which many writers believe originated with and was put forward on Canada's behalf (whether officially or unofficially) by explorer Joseph Elzéar Bernier. However, several Canadian government officials in the 1920s were both shrewd and accurate in their assessment of Bernier's pretensions. This note focuses on the views of civil servant Oswald Sterling Finnie, as recorded in previously unexamined government documents. In the years following Bernier's retirement from government service in 1925, the explorer embarked on a campaign to win the place in history he felt he deserved, only to be thwarted by Finnie and his colleagues. The note also clarifies the differences between Bernier's 1907 and 1909 sector claims and the official sector claim made in 1925.