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Teaching & Learning About Nunavut
Part of the Teaching & Learning About Canada Website
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Teaching & Learning About Nunavut
Part of the Teaching & Learning About Canada Website
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© 2000. Government of Canada with permission from Natural Resources Canada.
Capital of Nunavut In the plebiscite to select the capital of Nunavut, held on December 11, 1995, Iqaluit (on Baffin Island) took ~ 60% of the votes, winning over Rankin Inlet (on the west shore of Hudson Bay).
Did you know that Ellesmere Island National Park in the high Arctic is: -Canada's second-largest national park ?
Visit the site- Ellesmere Island National Park
Twelve of the 20 largest islands in Canada lie entirely within Nunavut. New National Park- Ukkusiksalik The 20,000 square kilometre park in Nunavut is located just south of the Arctic Circle, stretching west from Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq region. The park is home to polar bears, peregrine falcons and 125 other bird species, a reversing falls, a 24 foot waterfall which freezes in winter and 500 archaeological sites, including an old Hudson's Bay Company post. Map of Nunavut Parks
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Information about Nunavut SizeArea of Nunavut 1,900,000 sq km Area of Canada 9,970,610 sq km Nunavut is twice the size of Ontario with a population not much greater than the city of Brockville. |
Other Facts About Nunavut Kilometres of highway: 20 Cost of two litres of milk: $5.75 Cost of a loaf of bread: $2.60 Average household income in the Nunavut area: $31,471 Average household income in Canada: $45,251 Languages spoken: Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English. See bottom of page. |
| Population The 2001 population of just under 29,000 represents an increase of eight per cent in only five years. Inuit represent about 85 percent of the population, and form the foundation of the Territoryís culture. 26 communities ranging in size from tiny Bathurst Inlet (population 25) to Iqaluit, the capital (population almost 6,000). Grise Fiord, the northernmost settlement, lies at 78 degrees North: the hamlet of Sanikiluaq in the Belcher Islands is actually further south than Ontarioís northern border. None are accessible by road or rail; everything, from people to fuel to food, arrives by plane or sealift. This physical isolation accounts for the highest cost of living in Canada, reflected in prices throughout the Territory. In 2001, among Aboriginal languages reported as mother tongue, the three largest groups were Cree (80,000 people), Inuktitut (29,700) and Ojibway (23,500). These three groups were in the same order in the 1991 and 1996 censuses.
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Largest Community Iqaluit is the largest community in Nunavut. It has a population of about 6000 and is located app. 2,000 kilometres from Ottawa. Most Northern Community |
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The colours blue and gold are the ones preferred by the Nunavut Implementation Commissioners to symbolize the riches of the land, and sky. Red is a reference to Canada. The inukshuk symbolizes the stone monuments which guide the people on the land an mark sacred and other special places. The star is Nitirqsuituq, the North Star and the traditional guide for navigation and more broadly, forever remains unchanged as the leadership of the elders in the community. What the difference between a province & a territory ? A province exists in its own right, a creation of the Constitution Acts, 1867 - 1982. A territory, however, is created through federal law. As a result, Crown lands in the territories are retained by the federal government in the Crown in right of Canada. This differs from the provinces, which own provincial lands in the Crown in right of the province. Secondly, in a territory, federal Parliament may enter into provincial-type affairs, such as school curriculum. Thirdly, territorial governments are not included in the Constitutional amending formula — the way we decide if we want to change something in the Canadian Constitution. Provinces get a vote when a change is proposed — territories don't. Although territories don't have as much power over their own affairs as provinces do, the situation with Nunavut is a little different. That's because, thanks to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), the Nunavut government gained some decision-making capacity in areas of jurisdiction that the federal government normally keeps for itself in Canada's territories. Official Flower
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COAT OF ARMS
The dominant colours, blue and gold, are the ones preferred by the Nunavut Implementation Commissioners to symbolize the riches of the land, sea and sky. In the base of the shield, the inuksuk symbolizes the stone monuments which guide the people on the land and mark sacred and other special places. The qulliq, or Inuit stone lamp, represents light and the warmth of family and the community. Above, the concave arc of five gold circles refers to the life-giving properties of the sun arching above and below the horizon, the unique part of the Nunavut year. The star is the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star and the traditional guide for navigation and more broadly, forever remains unchanged as the leadership of the elders in the community. In the crest, the igluit ( igloo) represents the traditional life of the people and the means of survival. It also symbolizes the assembled members of the Legislature meeting together for the good of Nunavut; with the Royal Crown symbolizing public government for all the people of Nunavut and the equivalent status of Nunavut with other territories and provinces in Canadian Confederation. The tuktu (caribou) and qilalugaq tugaalik (narwhal) refer to land and sea animals which are part of the rich natural heritage of Nunavut and provide sustenance for people. The compartment at the base is composed of land and sea and features three important species of Arctic wild flowers. The motto, in Inuktitut, NUNAVUT SANGINIVUT means Nunavut, our strength. |
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Excellent !! Nunavut Handbook - uncensored guide to travel in the Eastern Arctic.
Environment Canada Weather Forecast: Iqaluit First Nations: Inuit, Arctic People- Excellent resource Nunavut: Discover a new Canadian Territory - Canada Online Inuktitut -The Language of the Inuit People
Joamie Elementary School's Kiilinik High School's Community Atlas of Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktutiak) Lots of valuable links Ellesmere Island National Park
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What the words mean:
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| NFLD | NS | NB | P.E.I. | QUEBEC |
| ONTARIO | MANITOBA | SASK. | ALBERTA | BC |
| YUKON | NW TERR. | NUNAVUT | CANADA | CITIES |
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Nunavut consists of: all of Canada north of 60° N and east of the boundary shown on the map below, and which is not within Quebec or Newfoundland; and the islands of Hudson Bay, James Bay and Ungava Bay that are not within Manitoba, Ontario or Quebec. 
The purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) was unanimously adopted by the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut on May 1, 2000, as the official flower of Nunavut. This wildflower is one of the three wildflowers depicted in Nunavut's coat of arms.
