About half that amount, 23.2 million dollars (US), will be allocated to the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans for "enhancing our spill response capacity and emergency planning in the Arctic Ocean," the ministry said in a statement.

The funding will also bolster "our ability to prevent, detect and reduce pollution, increase protection for ecologically significant marine areas through nine new marine protected areas."

The government said it will also increase its research and protection activities in Canada's Arctic waters.

In particular, the money will be used to evaluate the environmental, social and economic consequences of predicted increasing navigation in the Arctic region, as global warming melts the polar ice cap opening a Northwest Passage by 2035.

Canada considers a navigable route off its Arctic coastline part of its territorial waters, while the United States deems it international waters.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's conservative government has repeatedly stated it intends to defend Canada's sovereignty over the Great North.

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