Ice velocities and sea level pressure data from Arctic drifting buoys for 1979--85 are used to examine the seasonal variation of sea ice drift in the Canada basin. A recurring reversal of the mean anticyclonic gyre is demonstrated in late summer, in response to changes in atmospheric forcing. The identification of this reversal of ice motion is significant for numerical modeling of Arctic atmospheric-ocean-ice interactions. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1987