Kitikmeot Region (; Inuktitut: ''Qitirmiut'' ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the

Boothia Peninsula Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'', Inuktitut ''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large peninsula in Nunavut's northern Canadian Arctic, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point of ...

, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island. The regional centre is Cambridge Bay (population 1,766;). Before 1999, Kitikmeot Region existed under slightly different boundaries as

Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories The Kitikmeot Region was part of the Northwest Territories until division in April 1999 when most of the region became part of Nunavut. It consisted of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, togeth ...

Transportation

Access to the territorial capital of

Iqaluit Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the Frobisher Bay, large bay on the c ...

is difficult and expensive as the only direct flight is from Cambridge Bay, which began during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

. For example, Iqaluit is approximately from

Kugaaruk Kugaaruk (Inuktitut syllabics: ᑰᒑᕐᔪᒃ ''Kuugaarjuk'' or ᑰᒑᕐᕈᒃ ''Kuugaarruk''; English: "little stream") (also called ''Arviligjuaq'', meaning "the great bowhead whale habitat"), formerly known as Pelly Bay until 3 December 19 ...

, the closest Kitikmeot community. A one-way flight to the capital costs between $2,691 and $2,911 (as of November 2016) and involves flying to, along with an overnight stay in,

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

, Northwest Territories, approximately southwest of Kugaaruk—in total, a trip of about . As is the case for the rest of Nunavut, there is no road access to the region and all places are fly-in. All five

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

have certified airports:

Cambridge Bay Airport Cambridge Bay Airport is located southwest of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut. In December 2005 the Government of Nunavut announced that they would spend $18 million to pave the runway. On 14 ...

Gjoa Haven Airport Gjoa Haven Airport is located southwest of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut. The airport is a single storey building and located next to several trailers. The runway and taxiways are packed gravel or di ...

Kugaaruk Airport Kugaaruk Airport , formerly known as Pelly Bay Townsite Airport, is located at Kugaaruk (formerly known as Pelly Bay) in Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated ...

Kugluktuk Airport Kugluktuk Airport is located at Kugluktuk, Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nuna ...

and

Taloyoak Airport Taloyoak Airport is located west of Taloyoak, Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' N ...

, with scheduled flights by

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region ...

and

First Air Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Gjoa Haven

There are also four registered

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

s in the region.

Cambridge Bay Water Aerodrome Cambridge Bay Water Aerodrome is located just east of the community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Landing is usually possible only from the middle of July until the middle of September but ice may be encountered until well into August. DAL ...

is a floatplane base open in the summer only.

George Lake Aerodrome George Lake Aerodrome is a privately owned ice runway located on George Lake, Nunavut, Canada. The aerodrome, which is open from January to April, services the related explorations for gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au ( ...

, an ice runway is only open from January to April, and serves the Back River Gold Project. Goose Lake Aerodrome also serves the Back River Gold Project and has both ice and gravel runways.

Hope Bay Aerodrome Hope Bay Aerodrome is an aerodrome located near Hope Bay, Nunavut, Hope Bay, Nunavut, Canada. The runway serves the gold exploration camps in the area. Airlines and destinations See also *Hope Bay greenstone belt References External lin ...

serves the Hope Bay mine site and is a gravel runway. The former

Doris Lake Aerodrome Doris Lake Aerodrome (formerly ) was a privately owned ice runway located on Doris Lake, Nunavut, Canada. The aerodrome, which was open from January to April, serviced the related explorations for the gold Gold is a chemical element with th ...

, was a ice runway, and was the longest in the region, it served the Doris Lake mine. View of Kugaaruk

Climate

The Kitikmeot Region has a harsh subarctic climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfc'') and a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

(''Dfc'') with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers.

Politics

The region is home to the only two communities in Nunavut that voted "no" in the 1982 division plebiscite: Cambridge Bay and

Kugluktuk Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), formerly known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Island. I ...

The region has four

electoral districts An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

; * Cambridge Bay, which covers Bathurst Inlet, Cambridge Bay and

Umingmaktok Umingmaktok ( Inuinnaqtun: ''Umingmaktuuq'', "he or she caught a muskox") is a now abandoned settlement located in Bathurst Inlet in the Kitikmeot of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The community was previously known as Bay Chimo and the Inu ...

. The seat is held by Jeannie Ehaloak. *

Gjoa Haven Gjoa Haven (; Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ , meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters; or �ʒɔa evən is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in t ...

, which covers the community of

and is held by Tony Akoak. *

, which covers Kugluktuk. The seat is currently held by Calvin Pedersen, who was elected by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

in a July 2020

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

Netsilik The Netsilik (Netsilingmiut) are Inuit who live predominantly in Kugaaruk and Gjoa Haven of the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and to a smaller extent in Taloyoak and the north Qikiqtaaluk Region, in Canada. They were, in the early 20th century, a ...

, which covers

Taloyoak Taloyoak or Talurjuaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ ), formerly known as Spence Bay until 1 July 1992, although the body of water on which it is situated continues to be known as Spence Bay — same as the body of water on which Iq ...

and

. The seat is held by

Emiliano Qirngnuq Emiliano Qirngnuq is a Canadian politician, who was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Netsilik in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut at a by-election held 8 February 2016. Qirngnuq is from the haml ...

. Former districts include

Akulliq Akulliq () was a territorial electoral district ( riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada. The riding consisted of the communities of Kugaaruk and Repulse Bay. Kugaaruk is now a part of the Netsilik riding and Repulse Bay (which ...

, which covered Kugaaruk and

Naujaat Naujaat ( iu, ᓇᐅᔮᑦ, lit=seagulls' nesting place), known until 2 July 2015 as Repulse Bay, is an Inuit hamlet situated on the Arctic Circle. It is located on the shores of Hudson Bay, at the south end of the Melville Peninsula, in the ...

in the

Kivalliq Region The Kivalliq Region (; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑭᕙᓪᓕᖅ ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the portion of the mainland to the west of Hudson Bay together with Southampton Island and Coats Island. The regional c ...

. It was the ony electoral district in Nunavut to cross two regions. Nattilik, which covered Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak. The previous incumbent was the former

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓕᐅᓇ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping ...

. In 2007 at their AGM, Bob Lyall, a board member of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, suggested the formation of a political party called the ''Bloc Kitikmeot'' to run in the next general election and to advocate for a separate Kitikmeot Territory. Bobby Lyall, along with his brother Kitikmeot Corporation president, Charlie Lyall and delegates Martina and Connie Kapolak, argued that the Government of Nunavut had spent most of the infrastructure money available from the federal government in the Baffin Region (Qikiqtaaluk Region). However, the party was not formed and consequently no members ran for a seat in the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Apr ...

which continues to run as a consensus government.

Communities

Hamlets

* Cambridge Bay population: 1,766; *

population: 1,324 *

population: 933 *

population: 1,491 *

population: 1029

Other

* Bathurst Inlet population: 0 *

population: 5 *

Kitikmeot, Unorganized Kitikmeot, Unorganized is part of the Kitikmeot census division in Nunavut, Canada that covers the entire Kitikmeot Region outside the communities. There are no communities included in this area; it covers these traditional and outpost camps: ...

population: 0

Protected areas

* Ovayok Territorial Park * Northwest Passage Territorial Park *

Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park ( Inuinnaqtun: ''kugluk''; English: waterfall) is located about southwest of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada. The park is situated around the Bloody Falls on the Coppermine River and was listed as a national h ...

* Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary * Wrecks of HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror'' National Historic Site

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the Kitikmeot Region had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The Kitikmeot Region also doubles as one of three

census divisions Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic unit ...

in Nunavut, the others being the

Kivalliq The Kivalliq Region (; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑭᕙᓪᓕᖅ ) is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the portion of the mainland to the west of Hudson Bay together with Southampton Island and Coats Island. The regional ...

2011 Canada Census
Kivalliq Region (also known as the Keewatin) and the

Qikiqtaaluk Qikiqtaaluk (ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ formerly Sillem Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the second largest (after Bylot Island) of the several hundred islands and islets that are located in Baffin Bay, ...

2011 Canada Census
Qikiqtaaluk Region (also known as the Baffin) regions. Of the three the Kitikmeot is the smallest in size being smaller than the Kivalliq. It has the smallest population and is the least densely populated of the three. The population is predominantly

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

(90.0%) with 0.7% other

aboriginal peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, 0.3%

North American Indian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

and 0.4% Métis, and 9.3% non-Aboriginals.2011 Aboriginal Population Profile
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

Kitikmeot Region information at Explore Nunavut

Kitikmeot Heritage Society

Kitikmeot Inuit Association
*
Kitikmeot Corporation
economic development
Kitikmeot School Operations
{{coord, 68, 55, N, 100, 45, W, region:CA-NU_type:adm2nd_scale:10000000, display=title, name=Kitikmeot Region Kitikmeot Region, Census divisions of Nunavut