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Resolute or Resolute Bay () is an
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 ...
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
on Cornwallis Island in
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 is at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
and is part of the
Qikiqtaaluk Region The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region (Inuktitut syllabics: ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ ) or the Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut nam ...
. Resolute is one of Canada's northernmost communities and is second only to Grise Fiord on
Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island (; ) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Britain, and the total ...
( Alert and Eureka are more northerly but are not considered towns; rather, military outposts and weather stations). It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, with an average yearly temperature of . As in most other northern communities, the roads and most of the terrain are all gravel. It is also the closest transit location to
Devon Island Devon Island (, ) is an island in Canada and the largest desert island, uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the largest members of the Arctic Ar ...
, the largest uninhabited island in the world, which contains the best-preserved crater on Earth – the Haughton impact crater, formed about 31 million years ago.


Demographics

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 ...
conducted by
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 ...
, Resolute had a population of 183 living in 66 of its 89 total private dwellings, a change of − from its 2016 population of 198. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Settlement

The area shows evidence of being occupied sporadically by the Dorset culture (Tuniit) and later the Thule people from as early as 1500 BCE until 1000 CE. However, modern Inuit did not occupy or use the area until the 1953 High Arctic relocation. In 1947, Canada and the United States built a
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
, Resolute Weather Station, and an airstrip as part of the Joint Arctic Weather Stations: known today as the High Arctic Weather Stations. This was followed in 1949 by a
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
base, RCAF Station Resolute Bay. At that time, the population was made up of military personnel and specialists, such as meteorologists, from the south. Today, the base serves as one of the potential starting points for
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
research and access to both the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
and the
north magnetic pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...
. Named after the Arctic exploration vessel , the community of Resolute got its start in 1953 as part of the High Arctic relocation. Efforts to assert Canadian sovereignty in the High Arctic during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, because of the area's strategic geopolitical position, led the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
to forcibly relocate Inuit from
Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...
(
northern Quebec Northern Quebec () is a geographic term denoting the northerly, more remote and less populated parts of the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec.Alexandre Robaey"Charity group works with Indigenous communities to feed Northern Quebec's 'wandering dog ...
) to Resolute (and to Grise Fiord). The first group of people, which included one
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
officer, Ross Gibson, who was also to become the community's first teacher, were relocated in 1953, along with a second group in 1955, from Inukjuak (then known as Port Harrison),
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, and from Pond Inlet, Nunavut (then the
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 ...
). They were promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife. They also had to endure weeks of 24-hour darkness during the winter, and 24-hour sunlight during the summer: something that does not occur in northern Quebec. They were told that they would be returned home after a year if they wished, but this offer was later withdrawn as it would have damaged Canada's claims to sovereignty in the area and the Inuit were forced to stay. Eventually, the Inuit learned the local beluga whale migration routes and were able to survive in the area, hunting over a range of each year.McGrath, Melanie. ''The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic''. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006 (268 pages) Hardcover: Paperback: In 1993, the Canadian government held hearings to investigate the relocation program, and the following year the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report entitled ''The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953–55 Relocation''. The government paid $10 million CAD to the survivors and their families and gave a formal apology in 2008. The community was originally built from the base but, by the 1970s, the number of research people arriving in Resolute was causing problems. Between 1974 and 1975 the community was moved to a location allowing better municipal services, but poorly-sited for hunting purposes. Contrary to popular stereotypes, people in this remote community have a low unemployment rate. Most citizens are employed at least part of the year; however, with 2010s changes to American policy toward
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
hunting, the local economy is at risk as many Inuit cater to American sport hunters seeking polar bear trophies.


Facilities

The Tudjaat Co-op, part of the Arctic Co-operatives, runs a grocery/retail store. The town has two hotels – South Camp Inn, and the Airport Hotel (Narwhal), which are operated by Atco Frontec Ltd – which have fewer than 60 rooms each, and several self contained apartments. The hotels are also equipped with WiFi internet and gym spaces. Other facilities include a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
Detachment, a school (which provides education from kindergarten to Grade 12) and a gym. There is also a remote campus of Nunavut Arctic College. There is the Resolute Bay Health Centre/Nursing Station, staffed by nurses with a doctor visiting several times a year. Patients may be flown to the Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit or
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. Unlike a lot of Arctic communities there is only one church, the Resolute Bay Anglican Church.


Broadband communications

The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by SSi Canada. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.


Military presence

On August 8, 2007,
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
reported that
Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
documents showed plans to build an army training centre in the community along with a $60 million deep water port at Nanisivik to the southeast. On August 10, 2007, then-
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, announced the construction of a pair of multimillion-dollar military facilities within the contested waters of Canada's Arctic territory. The facilities consist of a new army training centre at Resolute, and a deep-sea port at Nanisivik Naval Facility. A statement issued by the Prime Minister said, "The Training Centre will be a year-round multi-purpose facility supporting Arctic training and operations, accommodating up to 100 personnel. Training equipment and vehicles stationed at the site will also provide an increased capability and faster response time in support of regional military or civilian emergency operations." On August 16, 2013, the Arctic Training Facility opened in Resolute. On February 23, 2016, in response to an increase in Russian military presence in the Arctic, it was announced that the military training facility would be expanded. This would include, "more storage, more capacity to get more equipment in, prepositioning more equipment so we don't spend a fortune on airlift or chartered aircraft", said Lieutenant-colonel Luc St-Denis. Incinerators were also said to be proposed to minimize the environmental impact on the area.


Government of Canada facilities

The government of Canada has several buildings around the community; namely, the Martin Bergmann Complex, named for Martin Bergmann, which houses the Polar Continental Shelf Program from
Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; ; )Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for natural r ...
, enabling Arctic Science Research. The Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP), a Government of Canada organization created in 1958. The centre may host up to 40 scientists as a starting location before they go to their field research. The PCSP provides researchers with efficient and safe logistics and, as part of the
Arctic policy of Canada The Arctic policy of Canada includes both the foreign policy of Canada in regard to the Arctic region and Canada's domestic policy towards its Northern Canada, Arctic territories. This includes the devolution of powers to the territories. Canada's ...
, strengthens Canadian sovereignty in the area. It brings together scientists from diverse organizations, including many
Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...
researchers, for interdisciplinary studies of the Canadian Arctic.


Climate

Resolute has 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 ...
or ET, a
polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with a polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...
sub-type under the
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 ...
, with long cold winters and short cool summers. The average high for the year is while the average low for the year is . Resolute has a very dry climate with an average
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
of a year, most of it falling as snow from September to November. The record high for Resolute is on July 2, 2012 and the record low for Resolute is on January 7, 1966. Resolute has never experienced an above-freezing temperature between October 20 and May 6. Between around April 30 and August 13, Resolute experiences
midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
; whilst between around November 7 and February 4 there is
polar night Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...
. Between late November and mid-January, the sun is so low that there is not even civil twilight, with the only exception from complete darkness being a deeper-blue sky called ''nautical twilight'' at noon, but there is no true experience of 24 hours of pitch black darkness around noon. For about two weeks before and after the midnight sun in Resolute, the nights are still quite bright since it does not get any darker than civil
twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
(this is the twilight where surrounding objects are still visible and outdoor activities can go on without the need for artificial lighting). Resolute, however, does not experience night (the phase of day) from about March 14 to September 29. Resolute does experience thunderstorms during the summer, but they are typically rare in the region.


Economy

Besides hunting guides and hotels Resolute has mixed and small sized employers: * Resolute Bay School * Hamlet of Resolute Council * RCMP Resolute Detachment * Resolute Bay Airport * Tudjaat Co-op store


Transportation

Although not as busy as it once was, Resolute Bay Airport is still the core of the area, serving as an aviation hub for exploration in the region and connected by direct service to Iqaluit. On August 20, 2011, First Air Flight 6560 crashed into a hill while attempting to land at the airport. Of the fifteen people on board, twelve were killed and the remaining three were severely injured. Within the community, most travel is by snowmobile and walking. Cars are limited. There are no taxis or public transit, but hotels offer shuttle service.


Notable people

Joseph Idlout, grandfather of singer Lucie Idlout and father of Leah Idlout, the community's second teacher, moved to Resolute in 1955 from Pond Inlet. Idlout, an Inuk hunter who was the subject of two
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
documentaries: ''Land of the Long Day'', filmed in 1952 in Pond Inlet, and ''Between Two Worlds'' in 1990. He was for a time one of the most well-known Inuit and was shown on the back of the Canadian two-dollar bill. Celina Kalluk, notable performer of Inuit throat singing and children's author, was born here.


Racing

Resolute is the starting point for both the Polar Race and the Polar Challenge, in which teams race the to the
north magnetic pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...
. In 2007, the British television show '' Top Gear'' aired the Top Gear: Polar Special, which embarked from Resolute. The show was framed as a race to the north magnetic pole between hosts
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
and
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
driving a 2007 Toyota Hilux 3.0 litre diesel versus a team of
sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transpor ...
s driven by American explorer Matty McNair with host
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
riding along. Clarkson and May successfully reached their destination, becoming the first in history to drive to the north magnetic pole; Hammond and McNair did not finish.Top Gear Team in Hot Water Over Pole Race
/ref>


See also

* List of municipalities in Nunavut


Notes


References


Further reading

* Bissett, Don. ''Resolute, An Area Economic Survey''. Ottawa: Industrial Division, Dept. of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1968. * Canadian Ice Service. ''Present and future sea ice travel: Resolute Maannaujuq ammalu sivuniksattinni sikukkut aullaaqattarniq: Qausuittuq = Déplacements actuels et futurs sur la glace de mer: Resolute''. Ottawa: Canadian Ice Service = Service Canadien des glaces, 2007. * Lahoutifard, Nazafarin, Melissa Sparling, and David Lean. 2005. "Total and Methyl Mercury Patterns in Arctic Snow During Springtime at Resolute, Nunavut, Canada". ''Atmospheric Environment''. 39, no. 39: 7597.


External links


Resolute Bay 1961
British Pathe Newsreel – New Arctic Station {{Authority control Populated places established in 1947 Populated places in Arctic Canada Hamlets in the Qikiqtaaluk Region 1947 establishments in the Northwest Territories Road-inaccessible communities of Nunavut