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<br/>{{Nunavut}}
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{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}
{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}



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[[Category:Inuit]]
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Revision as of 10:31, 5 February 2007

Template:Distinguish2

Nunavut
CountryCanada
ConfederationApril 1, 1999 (13th)
Government
 • CommissionerAnn Meekitjuk Hanson
 • PremierPaul Okalik
Federal representationParliament of Canada
House seats1 (Nancy Karetak-Lindell) of 338 (Expression error: Unexpected ( operator%)
Senate seats[[List of senators|1 (Willie Adams) of 105]] (Expression error: Unexpected ( operator%)
Population
 • Total36,858
GDP
 • Rank13th
 • Total (2005)$1.101 billion
 • Per capita$36,400 (8th)
Canadian postal abbr.
NU (temporarily NT)
Postal code prefix
X
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Nunavut (Inuktitut syllabics: The word "Nunavut" in Inuktitut, (fonts required)) is the largest and newest of the territories of Canada; it was separated officially from the vast Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act[1] and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act[2], 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 Nunavut Capital Plebiscite. Other major communities include 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 30,782 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

Main article: History of Nunavut

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: [[:Paleoeskimo]]

, Eskimo, Helluland

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.[3] 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[4] and the Nunavut Act[5] were passed by the Canadian Parliament, and the transition was completed on April 1, 1999.[6]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Nunavut

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 fourth 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, although there is a marker (albeit an out of date one) at the point, and some have made the trek. [7]

Physical geography

Nunavut

The highest point in Nunavut is Barbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island at a height of 2616 metres (8583 ft).

Geologically, Nunavut lies on the Canadian shield, with very thin soil lying on top of the bedrock, and many bare outcrops. This arrangement was caused by severe glaciation during the last ice age, which covered the Shield and scraped the rock clean. The extreme age of the base rock (Precambrian Era, over 540 million years old) is one of the main factors for the rich veins of ores and minerals that have been found in the territory. The multitude of rivers and lakes in the region is caused by the watersheds of the area being so young (dating from the end of the last ice age), with the added effect of post-glacial rebound. Virtually all of Nunavut's rivers drain into Hudson Bay or the Arctic waters.

Arctic tundra (Koppen climate classification ET) covers virtually all of Nunavut. The exceptions are a tiny area in the extreme southwest, where a marginal taiga forest exists; and small zones of permanent ice caps (class EF), found on some of the larger Arctic Islands at sites having a relatively high elevation. Nunavut's vegetation is partially composed of berries, lichens, Arctic Willows, moss, tough grass, and small willow shrubs.

Demographics

Ten largest communites
Municipality 2001 1996
Iqaluit 5,236 4,220
Rankin Inlet 2,177 2,058
Arviat 1,899 1,559
Baker Lake 1,507 1,385
Cambridge Bay 1,309 1,351
Igloolik 1,286 1,174
Pangnirtung 1,276 1,243
Pond Inlet 1,220 1,154
Kugluktuk 1,212 1,201
Cape Dorset 1,148 1,118
See also: List of communities in Nunavut

As of 2006, Nunavut has a population of approximately 30,782, of whom around 85% are native peoples, primarily Inuit. 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.

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 as census divisions, but have no autonomous governments:

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

Several mining projects are in the works and as of January 2006 Miramar Mining Corporation's Doris gold project and Cumberland Resource'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.[8] 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 this writing, 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.

References

  1. ^ Nunavut Act
  2. ^ Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act
  3. ^ Maple Leaf Web: Nunavut - The Story of Canada's Inuit People
  4. ^ Justice Canada - Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act
  5. ^ Justice Canada - Nunavut Act
  6. ^ CBC Digital Archives – Creation of Nunavut
  7. ^ - The Corner Corner - Manitoba - Northwest Territories - Nunavut - Saskatchewan Multi-point
  8. ^ CBC Digital Archives - On the Nunavut Campaign Trail


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