Canadian Destinations

Nunavut - Exploring Nunavut Canada's newest territory

By Ronaye Ryon

On April 1, 1999, Canada as we knew it was no more.
The Northwest Territories was divided in two parts, with the resulting new territory called Nunavut, which means "our land" in Inuktitut, the language of Inuit. The western arctic will still be known as the Northwest Territories.

Nunavut, encompassing two million square kilometres, roughly one fifth of Canada's total land mass, will remain part of Canada but will have its own legislature. The capital, Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, is the largest of Nunavut's 28 communities, with a population of 4,500.
The birth of the new territory is expected to attract development in industries ranging from shrimp fishing and kayaking to hotels and construction. The tourism industry is likely to expand, especially as three national parks will be created within Nunavut.
Travel is expensive, due to the vast distances, and also to the fact that everything has to be flown in. However, for those interested in eco-tourism, adventure and Inuit culture, the rewards are high.

One bonus is the summer "nights" (in a manner of speaking), meaning long days up to 24 hours of sunlight in June.

Tourist opportunities include Inuit arts and crafts, such as representations of including a well-known symbol in northern Canada, an inukshuk, meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut. This marker, or signpost, is made of rock slabs sculpted to resemble a human with outstretched arms or legs, and helps guide Inuit across the treeless tundra of the Canadian Arctic.

Photographing the wildlife is another possibility, and Canada's newest territory is not only home to about 27,000 people (of whom 19,500 are Inuit), it is also home to a variety of wildlife that thrive in the extreme cold, such as: polar bears, seals, caribou, whales, walruses, birds (Nunavut is home to 10 protected bird sanctuaries), muskox, and narwhals sometimes called the unicorns of the sea due to the lance-like horn the male grows.
Other options include retracing Franklin's route through the Northwest Passage in an icebreaker, hunting, fishing, canoeing a tundra river, or chartering a plane to visit the geographic North Pole.

Hikers may be interested in discovering a little-known "tourism jewel" presently receiving only 400 visitors per year Auyuittuq National Park Reserve on Baffin Island, set aside by the federal government in 1972.

Adventure Canada (based out of Ontario) offers hiking and Inuit culture tours in Nunavut.

For more information, call (905) 271-4000, fax (905) 271-5595 or
E-mail: info@adventurecanada.com
Internet www.adventurecanada.com
For more information on Nunavut check out, www.nunavuttourism.com or
email: info@nunavuttourism.com
Phone 1-867-979-6551 or 1-866-NUNAVUT (686-2888).

Mailing address for Nunavut Tourism:
#1450-building 157 Nipisa, Iqaluit,
NT,X0A 0H0
Canada.