Iqaluit Northmart unveils completed in-store renovations

Three years of continuous in-store renovations at Iqaluit’s Northmart are finally complete, an accomplishment marked by a grand opening Friday morning.

The event, which featured speeches, prizes and giveaways, attracted dozens of customers who lined up outside waiting for the store to open at 9 a.m.

Northmart deli worker Tim Gresiuk stops to greet Pebbles the puppy, cradled by customer Mia Manning on Friday morning. Manning said she is impressed with the store’s new deli. (Photo by Daron Letts)

“I love it,” said shopper Lena Takoonagak, adding that she had stayed away from the store for three years to avoid the construction. “Now when you come in here you feel like you’re down south.”

New additions since the store hosted a soft opening in January include a spacious furniture display that’s equipped with a digital catalog.

There are new and wider checkout stations, a brand-name clothing section, and a refurbished KFC and Tim Hortons takeout restaurant, among other features.

Customer Anukiruaq Sageaktook expressed relief that renovations are finally finished.

“It took awhile,” he said. “It was awful. We couldn’t find anything. Now everything seems to be back in place.”

Store staff shared their customers’ sentiments.

“It’s so nice to finally be done,” said Byron Whissell, who started as a bakery manager five years ago and is now a senior manager. “Helping customers through the transition was a challenge.”

Staff were tasked with continually moving equipment and switching products between aisles, while cleaning off construction dust along the way, he said.

On the positive side, Whissell said he learned a lot of customers’ names as he shepherded them through the store.

That phase is over, said Jim Caldwell, Winnipeg-based president of Canadian retail operations with the chain’s parent corporation, the North West Co.

“It’s a grand new beginning,” he said.

Still, while the interior is complete, the company plans to grade the parking lot next summer, he added.

The recent renovations have been in the works since 2018, the year the store’s warehouse was destroyed by fire, said Laura Broesky, manager of space planning.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the rebuilding of the warehouse, but it was completed in 2024. The recent renovations allow more space for furniture displays, said a North West Co. vice-president Mike Beaulieu.

The store hired 77 new staff during the renovations, increasing its workforce to 257 mostly full-time positions. New hires include 18 workers in the KFC and 24 in the new deli.

Subcontractors such as K.R.T. Electrical Ltd., Nunavut Excavating and Baffin Building Systems employed approximately 60 local workers.

Dominix Fire Protection and Services installed the sprinkler system after it finished similar work for the store’s warehouse in 2024, said owner Dean Dominix.

“It was long. The whole project was well over a year,” he said, adding that three Inuit workers helped.

Northmart assistant manager Jibran Khan welcomes customers to the Iqaluit store Friday morning, as customer Jutanie Ishulutak enjoys a candy apple near the entrance. (Photo by Daron Letts)

The store’s facade also transformed. It now features a metal mural based on the work of Puvirnituq artist Juanisialuk Irqumia, Hunting Walrus by Kayak.

A large sign above the entrance proclaims “serving Iqaluit since 1914.”

That date refers to the Hudson’s Bay Co.’s early retail trade in the community, Beaulieu said.

According to North West’s website, the two corporations’ histories converged in 1987, when a group of investors, including 415 employees, purchased Hudson’s Bay Company’s Northern Stores Division and its 178 locations, many of which originated as early trading posts.

In 1990 the company rebranded as the North West Co.