Nunavut
\n
for the electoral district of the same name see Nunavut (electoral district)
Nunavut 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 and the
Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries were established in
1993.
The capital of Nunavut is
Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) on
Baffin Island in the east. Other major communities include
Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes
Ellesmere Island in the north and the east 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 about 28,000 (
Nunavumiut, sg.
Nunavumiuq) 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.
History
\nThe 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. For more information on the earliest inhabitants and explorers of Nunavut, see Paleoeskimo, Neoeskimo and 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. 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.
(and there were quite a few more after that. More needs to be said about various explorers and colonial history in Nunavut. But for now, let's make a jump into recent history)
In 1976, negotiations for a land claim agreement and the new territory between the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and the federal government began. In April 1982, a majority of Northwest Territories residents voted in favour of a division, and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later. A land claims agreement was reached in September, 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut. In June 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.
People
\nAs of 2004, Nunavut has a population of approximately 28,000, of whom around 85% are native peoples, primarily Inuit.
Geography
\nThe territory covers approximately 1.9 million square kilometers of land and water including part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Islands, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay (including the Belcher Islands) which were formerly attached to the Northwest Territories.
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.
Regions of Nunavut
Some Canadians believe that Nunavut is made up of some of the former districts of the NWT, separated in their entirety. This is not the case; the dividing line did not follow district boundaries. Three of the five NWT districts are partially integrated into Nunavut:
- Kitikmeot is mostly in Nunavut, except two southwestern areas.\n* Keewatin is largely in Nunavut, except a southwestern rectangle.\n* A small right triangle of Fort Smith District is in Nunavut now.
The former Baffin District (the high Arctic Islands) was entirely transferred to Nunavut. None of Inuvik District was transferred to Nunavut.
Therefore, the current regions (districts) of Nunavut are as follows:\n*Baffin Region, Nunavut\n*Keewatin Region, Nunavut\n*Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut
See List of communities in Nunavut.
Economy
Government
Nunavut's head of state is a Commissioner appointed by the federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs. 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 the role of representing the crown has accrued to the position. The head of government is the premier. The members of the unicameral legislative assembly are elected individually; there are no parties and the legislature is consensus-based.
The territory's first parliament was dissolved on January 16, 2004, with elections scheduled for February 16. See Nunavut general election, 2004.
See also
\n*Legislative Assembly of Nunavut\n*List of Nunavut premiers\n*List of Nunavut commissioners\n*List of communities in Nunavut\n*List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
External links
\nCategory:Nunavut\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
