Nunavut

Nunavut

Coat of arms of Nunavut Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Nunavut Sannginivut (Inuktitut: Our land, our strength)
Capital	Iqaluit
Largest city	Iqaluit
Official languages	Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, French
Government
- Commissioner	Ann Meekitjuk Hanson
- Premier	Paul Okalik (Consensus government)
Federal representation	in Canadian Parliament
- House seats	1 (Nancy Karetak-Lindell)
- Senate seats	1 (Willie Adams)
Confederation	April 1, 1999 (13th)
Area	Ranked 1st
- Total	2,093,190 km² (808,185 sq mi)
- Land	1,932,255 km² (746,048 sq mi)
- Water (%)	160,935 km² (62,137 sq mi) (7.7%)
Population	Ranked 13th
- Total (2006)	29,474
- Density	0.015/km² (0/sq mi)
GDP	Ranked 13th
- Total (2005)	$1.101 billion
- Per capita	$36,400 (8th)
Abbreviations
- Postal	NU (temporarily NT)
- ISO 3166-2	CA-NU
Time zone	UTC-5, UTC-6, UTC-7
Postal code prefix	X
Flower	Purple Saxifrage
Tree	N/A
Bird	Rock Ptarmigan
Web site	www.gov.nu.ca
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Nunavut (Inuktitut syllabics: ; IPA pronunciation: [ˈnunəˌvut] ) is the largest and newest territory in the territories of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries were established in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland (including Labrador) in 1949.

The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay") on Baffin Island, in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west. Nunavut is both the least populated and the largest of the provinces and territorities of Canada. It has a population of only 29,474 spread over an area the size of Western Europe. If Nunavut were a sovereign nation, it would be the least densely populated in the world: Nearby Greenland, for example, has almost the same area and twice the population.

Nunavut means 'our land' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. Its inhabitants are called Nunavummiut, singular Nunavummiuq. Along with Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, and French are also official languages.

History

The region now known as Nunavut has supported a continuous population for approximately 4000 years. Most historians also identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland described in Norse sagas, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the region had occasional contact with Norse sailors.

Further information: Dorset culture, Eskimo

The recorded history of Nunavut began in 1576. Martin Frobisher, while leading an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, thought he had discovered gold ore in what is now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island. The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit. The contact was hostile, with Frobisher capturing four Inuit people and bringing them back to England, where they quickly perished. Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson, William Baffin and Robert Bylot.

In 1976 as part of the land claims negotiations between the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada) and the federal government the division of the Northwest Territories was discussed. On the 14 April 1982, a plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories with a majority of the residents voting in favour and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later. A land claims agreement was decided in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut. On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed by the Canadian Parliament, and the transition was completed on April 1, 1999.

Geography

The territory covers about 1.9 million square kilometres of land and water in Northern Canada including part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Archipelago, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay (including the Belcher Islands) which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fifth largest subnational entity (statoid) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 13th in area, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nunavut has land borders with the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland, a border with Manitoba to the south of the Nunavut mainland, and a tiny land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island. It also shares an aquatic border with the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

The creation of Nunavut created Canada's only "four corners", at the intersection of the boundaries of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, at 60°00' north, 102°00' west, on the southern shore of Kasba Lake. This is not the tourist spot it might be, as it is extremely remote and inaccessible. Nevertheless there is a marker (albeit an out-of-date one) at the point, and some have made the trek.

Demographics

As of the 2001 Census the population of Nunavut was 26,745, with 22,560 people identifying themselves as Inuit, 95 as First Nations, 50 Métis and 3,945 as non-aboriginal.

Nunavut's small and sparse population makes it unlikely the territory will be granted provincial status in the foreseeable future, although this may change if the Yukon, which is only marginally more populous, becomes a province.

Ten largest communities

Municipality	2006	2001
Iqaluit	6,184	5,236
Rankin Inlet	2,358	2,177
Arviat	2,060	1,899
Baker Lake	1,728	1,507
Igloolik	1,538	1,286
Cambridge Bay	1,477	1,309
Pangnirtung	1,325	1,276
Pond Inlet	1,315	1,220
Kugluktuk	1,302	1,212
Cape Dorset	1,236	1,148

It is a commonly-held misconception that Nunavut is made up of some of the former regions of the Northwest Territories, separated in their entirety. This is not the case; the dividing line did not follow region boundaries, although boundaries have been subsequently finessed so that three former NWT regions collectively constitute Nunavut. They serve (under different names) as census divisions, but have no autonomous governments:

• Qikiqtaaluk Region
  • Baffin Region (census division)
• Kivalliq Region
  • Keewatin Region (census division)
• Kitikmeot Region
  • Kitikmeot Region (census division)

The former NWT's Baffin region was entirely transferred to Nunavut. The former Kitikmeot region is mostly in Nunavut, except two southwestern areas and the northwest corner of Victoria Island. Likewise, the former Keewatin region is largely in Nunavut, except a southwestern rectangle.

Fort Smith region and Inuvik region remain census divisions of the Northwest Territories. A small right triangle of the former Fort Smith region is in Nunavut now, while none of the Inuvik region was transferred to Nunavut.

The aforementioned regional divisions are distinct from the district system of dividing the Northwest Territories that dated to 1876 and was abolished when Nunavut was created. Nunavut encompasses the entirety of the old District of Keewatin (which had differing boundaries from the Keewatin/Kivalliq regions), the majority of the District of Franklin and a small portion of the District of Mackenzie.

Major mines

• Lupin Mine - 1982-2007 - gold (located near the Northwest Territories boundary near Contwoyto Lake)
• Polaris Mine - 1982-2002 - lead and zinc (located on Little Cornwallis Island, not far from Resolute)
• Nanisivik Mine at Nanisivik - 1976-2002 - lead and zinc (near Arctic Bay)
• Rankin Inlet Mine - 1957-1962 - nickel and copper
• Jericho Diamond Mine - 2006-present - diamonds (located 400 kilometres (250 mi) northeast of Yellowknife)

Several mining projects are in the works; as of January 2006 Miramar Mining Corporation's Doris gold project and Cumberland Resources's Meadowbank gold project were in the process of review for approval.

Government

Nunavut's head of state is a Commissioner appointed by the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As in the other territories, the commissioner's role is symbolic and is analogous to that of a lieutenant governor. While the Commissioner is not formally a representative of the Queen of Canada, a role roughly analogous to representing the Crown has accrued to the position.

The members of the unicameral legislative assembly are elected individually; there are no parties and the legislature is consensus-based. The head of government, the premier of Nunavut, is elected by, and from the members of the legislative assembly.

The territory's first legislature was dissolved on January 16, 2004, with an election shortly thereafter. See Nunavut general election, 2004. As of 2007, Nunavut is in its second government.

Faced by criticism of his policies, Premier Paul Okalik set up an advisory council of eleven elders, whose function it is to help incorporate "Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit" (Inuit culture and traditional knowledge, often referred to in English as "IQ") into the territory's political and governmental decisions.

The territory has an annual budget of $700 million CAD, provided almost entirely by the federal government. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin designated support for Northern Canada as one of his priorities for 2004, with an extra $500 million to be divided among the three territories.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Nunavut

Nunavut Portal

• Symbols of Nunavut
• Nunavut Arctic College
• Scouting in Nunavut

External links

All links Retrieved May 11, 2008.

• Map of Nunavut
• Nunavut Act

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