News Feb 10, 2026 – 12:20 pm EST

Nunavut, Manitoba to renew co-operation on hydro-fibre link

$3.39B project would connect Nunavut to North American electrical grid

From left, Kivalliq Inuit Association president Kono Tattuinee, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Nunavut Premier John Main meet in Winnipeg last week to talk about Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Premier of Nunavut)

By Arty Sarkisian - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Nunavut and Manitoba premiers are renewing their partnership on the creation of a $3.39-billion transmission line that would connect Nunavut to the rest of the North American electrical grid.

“Nunavut and Manitoba are natural partners,” said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew in a news release after a meeting with Nunavut Premier John Main and Kivalliq Inuit Association president Kono Tattuinee in Winnipeg last week.

The proposed Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link includes plans for a 1,200-kilometre high-voltage transmission line connecting Gillam, Man., to Arviat, Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake along with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.’s two gold mines in the region.

It would include a broadband connection to bring high-speed internet to the hamlets.

Manitoba and Nunavut’s memorandum of understanding on this project goes back to Nunavut’s creation in 1999 and it was last renewed in 2015.

Kinew and his cabinet will make a “trip to the Arctic” to sign the agreement, Main said in the release, but it didn’t specify when the trip would take place.

The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link is one of four projects included on the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s “nation-building” wish list for the federal government. It is led by Nukik Corp., which is owned by Kivalliq Inuit Association and its business arm Sakku Investments Corp.