Iqaluit (ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ in Inuktitut) is the territorial capital and the largest community of Canada's youngest territory, Nunavut. Its population is about 60% Inuit, a lower figure than in other parts of Nunavut. The town was selected to serve as the new territory's capital in a territory-wide referendum, in which it beat Rankin Inlet.

Larger map

The city is located on Frobisher Bay on the southeast part of Baffin Island, in the Arctic Ocean to the east of the territory's mainland, and to the north of Hudson Bay. Inhabitants of Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut (singular, Iqalummiuk).

Begun as an American airbase in World War II, the population of the city of Frobisher Bay increased rapidly during the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW line, a system of radar stations, see NORAD) in the 1950s. On January 1, 1987, the name of this municipality was officially changed from "Frobisher Bay" to "Iqaluit", which means "place of many fish" in Inuktitut.

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.

Population (2001) 5,236

External links

• The Official City of Iqaluit Website
• Two-weeks in non-anglophonic Canada
• Personal travel log with many photos