Blizzard brings Iqaluit to near standstill
Second storm in as many weeks brings high winds, snow to Nunavut capital
A car stuck in drifting snow blocks the entrance to Iqaluit’s Aqsarniit Hotel parking lot Wednesday morning. Most services in the Nunavut capital were unavailable for the second time this month due to a blizzard. Environment Canada’s forecast calls for the weather to clear Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Daron Letts)
This story was updated on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Services across Iqaluit remained closed Wednesday morning as a blizzard buffets the city for the second time in as many weeks.
The weather deteriorated quickly Tuesday afternoon and remained poor through the night.
Light snow with 50 km/h winds gusting to 80 km/h made travel conditions hazardous with almost zero visibility, according to Environment Canada.
On Wednesday, schools were closed. water and sewer services suspended and government offices shuttered.
Several other offices, including Qulliq Energy Corp., Workers Safety and Compensation Commission and Qikiqtaaluk Corp., announced closures as well. Ampere announced its Makerspace would be closed Wednesday morning.
The City of Iqaluit announced crews will start clearing the roads as soon as its safe to do so and emergency services are available as long as its safe to respond.
The Baffin Mayors Forum, ongoing this week at the Aqsarniit Hotel in Iqaluit, suspended its meetings until weather improves.
That is expected to happen later Wednesday afternoon, according to Environment Canada. Once the blizzard passes, clear skies and highs ranging from -23 C to -28 C are forecast through the weekend.
Correction: This story was updated to correct time reference errors in the photo caption.
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday?
So? It is still winter in Iqaluit.
Calling this a “near standstill” feels like a bit of a snow job. The city shut down around 4 p.m. and things were dug out and moving again by lunchtime the next day — hardly the Arctic deep freeze the headline suggests. If anything truly stood still, it was the bars… and maybe a few GN desks. Though to be fair, many GN offices are already operating under “limited visibility” until after the morning coffee break anyway.
The storm blew through faster than a snowdrift across the runway, so describing it as bringing Iqaluit to a standstill seems like piling it a little deep.
If Nunatsiaq is looking for something that’s actually been at a standstill for a while, maybe some deeper digging into why the GN’s promised 3,000 houses seem permanently stuck in the planning stage, why QEC is reportedly owed tens of millions, the staggering lack of action in Family Services files, or the ongoing shortage of health-care workers across community health centres.
Now those are the kinds of blizzards that have been keeping Nunavut frozen in place for years!
Must be a slow news week. Not sure when a 18hr blizzard in the north was newsworthy.