The City of Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada
Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) is the territorial capital and the largest community of Canada's youngest territory, Nunavut. It has a population of 5,236 of which about 60% is Inuit. The city was selected to serve as the new territory's capital in a territory-wide referendum, in which it was chosen over Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay.
Iqaluit has a typically arctic climate, with very cold winters and short summers that are too cool to permit the growth of trees. Average monthly temperatures are below freezing for eight months of the year.
Precipitation averages less than 500 millimetres annually, but Iqaluit is much wetter than many other localities in the Canadian arctic islands, with the summer being the wettest season.
Iqaluit has the distinction of being the smallest Canadian capital city in terms of population and the only capital that cannot be accessed from the rest of Canada via a highway.
Iqaluit, Inuktitut for "place of many fish," is located near the mouth of the Sylvia Grinnell River that empties into Frobisher Bay.
Statistics Canada figures show Nunavut's population at the time of its formation in 1999 was approximately 27,000.
Unlike Yukon and NWT, a large proportion of the population does not reside in a single community. The City of Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is the largest community with a population of more than 7,250.
Rankin Inlet is the second largest community with a population of approximately 2,200. Eight other communities have populations over 1,000 people including Cambridge Bay.
Inuktitut is the dominant language in Nunavut with 60 per cent speaking it at home compared with 35 per cent speaking English.
Economic development
The Territory has experienced a rapid growth in population over the past several decades. For example, Nunavut experienced an increase in population by 32 per cent between 1986 and 1996.
Nunavut's population growth rate (16.4 per cent) was more than three times the national average (5.7 per cent) between 1991 and 1996. Nunavut's population is expected to reach over 32,000 by 2006 and over 43,000 by 2020 according to Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit (Nunavut Bureau of Statistics).
By 2010 it is expected that there will be more people residing in Nunavut than in Yukon.
The high population growth rate over the past several years has resulted in Nunavut having the youngest population in Canada. Approximately 60 per cent of the population are under 25 years of age.
Since being designated as the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit has been going through a period of unprecedented growth as new government offices and businesses are built.
Explore the local scenery while staying at the Frobisher Inn
