25 historic moments in Nunavut’s 25-year history

A lot has happened since Nunavut became a territory on April 1, 1999. Here are some of the top 25 moments in the territory’s history:

1. Party time

Nunavut officially became its own territory on April 1, 1999. Former prime minister Jean Chretién, former governor general Roméo LeBlanc and 2,000 attendees were in Iqaluit for the celebration.

2. Kunuk takes Inuktitut film to France

Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak presents filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk with the 2022 Nunavut Commissioner’s Arts Award on March 6, 2023. Kunuk, who previously has received both Order of Canada and Order of Nunavut honours, has a series of films to his credit. They include Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) — the first feature film to be written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut. (Photo by Wende Halonen)

Zacharias Kunuk’s Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner became the first feature-length Inuktitut film to premiere at Cannes Film Festival in 2001, winning the Camera d’Or.

3. ‘The land that never melts’

Auyuittuq National Park became Nunavut’s first national park in 2001.

4. The end of ‘Nunavut time’

Canada’s largest jurisdiction split into three separate time zones in 2001, moving away from “Nunavut Time.” Areas of Nunavut to as far west as Alberta shared the same time zone as areas as far east as Ontario under the old system.

5. A royal visit

Queen Elizabeth II made her first and only visit to Nunavut in 2002. “For the past three years, this rich expanse has been yours in its most precious sense and it bears the name you chose,” she said at the time.

6. Inuit wisdom guides policy

Former premier Paul Okalik created Nunavut’s IQ advisory council,  which was mandated to advise the GN on how Inuit values can be incorporated into government policy. Inuit traditional knowledge guides government to this day.

7. An NHL star is born

Jordin Tootoo became the first Inuk to join the National Hockey League in 2003. He would go on to play for the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks before retiring in 2018.

Jordin Tootoo became the first Inuk to play in the NHL in 2003. (File photo courtesy of the New Jersey Devils/Facebook)

8. Miss Nunavut takes the stage

In 2004, Ashley Paniyuk-Dean became the first Miss Nunavut, and represented the territory at a Canadian beauty pageant.

9. White Stripes rock Iqaluit

Jack and Meg White landed in Iqaluit in 2007 for a night of rock and roll. The visit was commemorated in the band’s 2009 film The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights.

10. A controversial ban

In 2009, the European Union council approved a ban on Canadian seal products. Though the ban included a provision to allow seal products harvested by Inuit, many continued to be critical of the ban over the ensuing years.

11. Eva Aariak makes history

Eva Aariak’s win in the 2008 Nunavut election led to her place as the territory’s first female premier.

12. A formal apology

The federal government formally apologized for the 1950s Arctic relocation program, in 2010. The program moved Inuit families from Inukjuak and Pond Inlet to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay.

13. A new boundary

Canada and Denmark agreed to a new boundary between Ellesmere Island and Greenland in 2012, redrawing a map that hadn’t changed since 1973.

14. Nunavut’s first Inuk doctor focuses on heart surgery

Dr. Donna May Kimmaliardjuk dissects a caribou heart for Nunavut secondary school students as part of a health careers camp in Iqaluit on May 10, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Rogers)

Donna May Kimmaliardjuk became the first Inuk doctor to come from Nunavut in 2014. She went on to become a cardiac surgeon and has returned to the territory to speak to youth about her career.

15. Iron shipments begin

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. transported its first shipment of iron ore from its Milne Inlet port in 2015.

16. Baker Lakers stall uranium project

A decades-long fight against a proposed uranium mine near Baker Lake received a boost from the Nunavut Impact Review Board in 2015, when it declined to endorse the project, citing environmental and socio-economic concerns.

17. A new golden era

Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine mine near Rankin Inlet opened in 2019, creating 900 jobs.

18. Franklin lost, Franklin found

The long-lost HMS Erebus was located in 2014, with help from Inuit oral history. The HMS Terror was found in 2016.

19. Call me Naujaat

A Parks Canada underwater archaeologist examines a belaying pin on the upper deck of HMS Erebus in September 2022. (Photo courtesy of Marc-André Bernier/Parks Canada)

Residents of Repulse Bay voted on a new name in 2014 — Naujaat, which means a “nesting place for seagulls.”

20. Welcome, Sanirajak and Kinngait

Two more Nunavut communities received updated names in 2020. Hall Beach became Sanirajak and Cape Dorset became Kinngait.

21. The Pope apologizes

Pope Francis made a visit to Nunavut in July 2022 to apologize for the church’s treatment of Indigenous people and wrongs committed within the residential school system.

22. The end of the ‘Whisky War’

Canada’s so-called “Whisky War” with Denmark over the Arctic island of Tartapaluk, also known as Hans Island, came to an end in the summer of 2022.

Drum dancer Noah Kudlak from the performance group Huqqullaaqatigiit dances close to Pope Francis in front of Nakasuk Elementary School in Iqaluit during his visit to the city in 2022. (Photo by David Venn)

23. A golden day for Nunavut

Cambridge Bay wrestler Eeekeluak Avalak made history in 2022 by winning Team Nunavut’s first-ever gold medal at the Canada Summer Games.

24. Vandal says no to Baffinland

People who live on northern Baffin Island who were concerned about a proposed expansion of Baffinland’s Mary River iron mine won a victory in 2022 when Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal said no to the mine’s expansion plans.

25. Devolution begins

On Jan. 14, 2024, Nunavut started the process of taking control of its Crown lands with the signing of the devolution agreement.