Cambridge Bay pool renovation begins after years-long closure

When Patti Bligh first moved to Cambridge Bay in 1998, it was the community swimming pool that convinced her to stay.

“As long as there’s a swimming pool, we can make that work [for our kids],” she recalled thinking at the time — a decision that turned into nearly three decades living in the hamlet.

The pool has been shuttered since 2019 due to structural issues caused by thawing permafrost beneath the building, which led to safety concerns.

Now, after years of closure and uncertainty, that same pool is one step closer to reopening.

The Hamlet of Cambridge Bay announced April 9 that the first phase of the swimming pool renovation project is underway, with materials being ordered to restore the more than 30-year-old facility, according to a Facebook update.

“It was just a really lovely part of summer,” Bligh said of the small, waist-deep pool where birthday parties and games of Marco Polo were popular.

She recalled children lining up outside the doors on warm days, community members renting the space for gatherings and aquafit classes, and efforts to run swimming and water safety programs.

“It was a multigenerational gathering spot where people went in and just played and floated around on the mats,” she said.

Municipal planning documents from 2024–25 show the hamlet hopes to build a better-insulated facility to extend the swimming season beyond its traditional six-week summer window, which ran from mid-June into late August.

Bligh, herself a former lifeguard and water safety instructor, said staffing the pool was often a challenge too.

Certified lifeguards were typically brought in from down south as there was limited access to the training required for National Lifeguard Service certification in the North.

While local youths were hired as pool attendants, and in later years a small number were trained as lifeguards, the hamlet largely depended on outside staff to operate the facility.

Bligh said water safety instruction was a central goal when the facility was operating, but not always easy to deliver consistently due to varied opening times.

“The other challenge was the kids like going to the pool to play and are not always interested in learning first aid and water safety,” she said.

Bligh, who was a longtime Kiilinik High School teacher and has since retired in Yellowknife, said she plans to be back in Cambridge Bay in August and hopes the pool will be open by then.

The Hamlet of Cambridge Bay did not respond to a request for information about how long the renovations are expected to take.