The Proterozoic North Atlantic dyke swarm occurs in Scotland, East and West Greenland, and Labrador, over an area of at least 250 000 km$^{2}$, and includes two dominant dyke sets which in West Greenland strike NNE-SSW, and ESE-WNW. The intrusive relations of the two sets, and their association with ductile shear zones and other lateral displacements of country rocks, show the dykes to represent a conjugate swarm emplaced along shear fractures, rather than along tensional openings. The mechanical behaviour of the Proterozoic lithosphere is considered in the context of the regional fracture system.