Nicole is the proud recipient of the 2022 WiDS-CGAI Fellowship. She is a PhD student at Trent University in the Canadian Studies Program under the supervision of Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer. Nicole is a Graduate Fellow at NAADSN (North America and Arctic Defence and Security Network) since 2019 where she works on projects related to the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement, NATO, broadband connectivity, and continental defence. Nicole has her BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and her MA in Political Studies from the University of Manitoba. Her research interests focus on Arctic Geopolitics, Defense and Security Studies, and Canadian Foreign Policy. For her PhD, she will look at the question of how Canada has leveraged its alliances and relationships to maintain Arctic security historically and should it do so in the future.

During her time thus far at Trent Nicole has been awarded the Graduate Research Fellowship (2020-4), the Dean’s PhD Scholarship (2020-4), the Quaker Oats Scholarship (2020), the Mary Northway Award in Canadian Studies (2021-24), and the Shelagh Grant Endowment for Northern and Arctic Research (2020-24). During her MA, she held the Duff Roblin Fellowship (2018-20) as well as the Muriel and Murray Smith Fellowship (2018).

Selected Publications:

Covey, Nicole. “The Case for Renewal: The North Warning System and Canada.” Canadian Army Journal 19, no. 2 (2021): 32–39.

This paper demonstrates the continued relevance and importance of the North Warning System (NWS) through the lens of Canada’s domestic, continental, and international security spheres. It argues that the prioritization of NWS and other NORAD modernization projects will be beneficial to the Canadian government through strengthening the Canada/US defence relationship and filling a gap in North America’s (and, by extension, Canada’s) defence system during an era of increasing global tensions.

Covey, Nicole. Legitimization of the Arctic Coastal States (A5) through the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) Fisheries Agreement. NAADSN, 2021.

This paper explains the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean and how it can be understood as a legitimizing tool for the Arctic Five. It highlights how the Agreement achieves several key objectives for the Arctic littoral states by protecting domestic fish stocks, legitimizing the work and governance of the Arctic Five, and affirming the special relationship they with the Arctic Ocean.

Byers, Michael, and Nicole Covey. “Arctic SAR and the “Security Dilemma”.” International Journal 74, no. 4 (2019): 499–517. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020702019890339.

This article explores how search and rescue (SAR) equipment and personnel can strengthen Canada’s Arctic security without contributing to a classic ‘‘security dilemma’’ because Arctic SAR involves dual-use assets that can fulfill most existing and reasonably foreseeable Arctic security roles as a secondary mission.