The Kivalliq Region (;

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...

: ᑭᕙᓪᓕᖅ) is an administrative region of

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada. It consists of the portion of the mainland to the west of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

together with

Southampton Island Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of t ...

and

Coats Island Coats Island ( Inuktitut: ᐊᑉᐸᑑᕐᔪᐊᖅ, Appatuurjuaq) lies at the northern end of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. At in size, it is the 107th largest island in the world, and Canada's 24th largest island. The islan ...

. The regional centre is Rankin Inlet. The population was 11,045 in the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

, an increase of 6.1% from the 2016 census. Before 1999, the Kivalliq Region existed under slightly different boundaries as Keewatin Region,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. Although the Kivalliq name became official in 1999,

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

continued to refer to the area as the Keewatin Region in publications such as the

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

until 2021. Most references to the area as "Keewatin" have generally been phased out by Nunavut-based bodies, as that name was originally rooted in a region of

northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

derived from a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

dialect, and only saw application onto

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

-inhabited lands because of the boundaries of the now-defunct

District of Keewatin The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the ''Keewatin Act'', and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became ...

Demographics

In the

conducted by

, the Kivalliq Region had a population of 11,045 living in 2,719 of its 3,193 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 10,413. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Communities

*Hamlets and population **

Arviat Arviat (, Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June 1989) is a predominantly Inuit Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada ...

(2,864) ** Baker Lake (2,061) ** Chesterfield Inlet (397) ** Coral Harbour (1,035) ** Naujaat (1,225) ** Rankin Inlet (2,975) ** Whale Cove (470) *Former ** Cape Fullerton ** Ennadai ** Maguse River ** Padlei ** Tavani ** Wager Bay The remainder of the region is referred to as Kivalliq, Unorganized by Statistics Canada.

People

Caribou Inuit Kivallirmiut, also called the Caribou Inuit (/ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᐅᑦ), barren-ground caribou hunters, are Inuit who live west of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, between 61° and 65° N and 90° and 102° W in Northern Canada. The Denm ...

** Ahiarmiut ** Asiagmiut ** Harvaqtuurmiut ** Utkuhiksalik

Geology

PGR Paulson2007 Rate of Lithospheric Uplift due to post-glacial rebound

The Kivalliq Region is experiencing the world's highest rate of

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

(as much as per year).

Climate

The Kivalliq Region has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc'') and a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

(''ET''). However, it is almost entirely above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

. Temperatures stay below freezing from late September to early June, and peak at around in July. Days are much longer in summer than in winter.

Protected areas

* Arvia'juaq and Qikiqtaarjuk National Historic Site * East Bay Migratory Bird Sanctuary * Fall Caribou Crossing National Historic Site * Harry Gibbons Migratory Bird Sanctuary * Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Park * Inuujarvik Territorial Park * McConnell River Migratory Bird Sanctuary *

Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary The Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary is the largest wildlife refuge in Canada. At , it is over twice the area of Belgium. It is located in northern Canada's Arctic region, north of the tree line, straddling the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, halfway ...

* Ukkusiksalik National Park

Notes

References

External links

Kivalliq Region information at Explore Nunavut

kivalliq.com - photos, information, links from Rankin Inlet Nunavut
{{coord, 67, 23, N, 088, 00, W, region:CA-NU_type:adm2nd_scale:10000000, display=title, name=Kivalliq Region Census divisions of Nunavut