Canada, by its natural geographical position in the world, has a very strong interest in the International Polar Year and the activities being planned to contribute to the scientific and observational themes and objectives proposed by the International Planning Committee. A National Steering Committee for IPY will co-ordinate Canada's activities, working closely with all interested parties, including governments at all levels. The northern communities have expressed a strong desire to be part of the planning process. The human dimension will be an important aspect of the Canadian program. International collabration will be a key ingredient for a successfull Canadian program, such as through its strong ICSU and WMO linkages. It expects to contribute to issues related to cryosphere, cryosphere and climate, atmospheric studies such as THORPEX, and collaborate with observational initiatives such as SEARCH and those generatede through GEOSS. This paper will summarize where Canada is in its planning and identify areas where international collaboration would be especially beneficial.