Nuuk’s progress ‘aspirational’ to Iqaluit

Greenland capital has seen commercial, residential building boom; airport, school improvements underway

Nuuk, Greenland’s capital city, has a population of just under 20,000. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With a new seasonal air link to Nuuk, Greenland, travellers from Iqaluit will find a city that in some ways is similar but bigger, faster-growing and with services not seen in the Nunavut capital.

They will land in a fly-in city with a similar climate and array of colourful buildings, owing to a discontinued tradition of colour-coding structures based on their function.

However, they will also discover Nuuk as a capital city that has grown much vaster and taller than Iqaluit and includes businesses and amenities Iqaluit lacks.

“It feels like Nuuk has grown from a small town where everybody knew each other, to something that feels more like a capital or a larger European city to live in, even though it isn’t, size-wise,” said Rasmus Christiansen, a communications manager with Sermersooq municipality.

Sermersooq encompasses Nuuk and several other communities spanning 531,900 square kilometres of southeastern Greenland.

A lifelong Nuuk resident, Christiansen remembers when things were smaller and “cozier.”

He described some of the development over the past decade or so.

Several new apartment buildings have been erected, the Nuuk Centre shopping mall opened its doors, at least two major banks set up offices, the deep sea port that operates year-round has been expanded, and the Qinngorput subdivision was developed outside the city’s core.

The municipality has also developed several paved roads with roundabouts and traffic lights.

Nuuk’s current population is close to 20,000, compared to more than 16,000 people 10 years ago, according to Statistics Greenland. Iqaluit’s population is less than 8,000, according to the 2021 census.

Christiansen said the city’s growth stems partly from people wanting to move from smaller communities to Nuuk, which has many amenities hamlets do not, such as coffee shops and more businesses.

With that growth comes developers interested in building.

“It feels like people here want the city to grow, not just in numbers but in services and possibilities,” Christiansen said.

Nuuk was founded in 1728 by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hanse Egede, and slowly grew. While Inuit have fished and hunted in Iqaluit for hundreds of years, its establishment as a city was more recent.

During the Second World War, Nuuk became an administrative centre for Greenland after it was cut off from Denmark, which was under Nazi occupation.

While the war was ongoing, a paddler from Pangnirtung named Nakasuk led the U.S. military to Frobisher Bay where it established an air base during the early 1940s.

In 1995, Iqaluit was elected via a plebiscite to become the capital of Nunavut, which gained official territorial status four years later.

It’s often said people and groups in Nunavut look to Greenland for ideas, relationship-building and cultural exchange.

In 2022, Nunavut and Greenland signed an agreement with the purpose, according to Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok, of ensuring the two “continue to work together to better serve [their] people.”

Nuuk has some things that Iqaluit could aspire to have, said Iqaluit Coun. Romeyn Stevenson, who has family in Greenland and visited Nuuk in May as part of his job with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

One area where Nuuk has an advantage is that its port operates year-round whereas Iqaluit’s port is unable to accept shipments while the sea is still frozen, Stevenson said.

Another advantage is hydroelectricity. While there have been talks about hydroelectric projects in Iqaluit, the city continues to rely on burning diesel fuel to generate electricity.

Nuuk also has an incinerator, where garbage from the city and surrounding communities is burned and the heat generated warms up a district heat system.

“Those two things really stand out to me as of interest, but also as aspirational for Iqaluit and for Nunavut,” Stevenson said, referring to hydroelectricity and the incinerator.

“I think it’s almost comical how many things are done there that are aspirational here,” he said, citing transportation, road and sidewalk quality and public transit as examples.

At an Iqaluit council meeting in May, Stevenson said the city should welcome representatives from Nuuk in September for the Nunavut Trade Show.

Christiansen said officials from Nuuk are also looking for opportunities to connect with Iqaluit.

This year, Nuuk will see more major developments completed.

The airport’s new terminal has opened, though construction work is still ongoing.

Also, the runway is being extended to 2,200 metres, allowing it to accommodate jet service to and from Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital.

Iqaluit’s airport runway is 2,623 metres long, and the terminal has been open since 2017.

With expectation of more travellers and residential growth, Christiansen said Nuuk continues to grow as a thriving, international city.

“I know that a lot of people want Nuuk to be a place where people want to move, not because they can get a good job or because of the scenery,” he said.

“Because Nuuk has become a town worthy of wanting to live in under any exception or in any circumstance.”

  • Nuuk's old colonial port and boardwalk are visible here from the water. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

 

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(29) Comments:

  1. Posted by Northerner on

    Looks clean , not littered with beer and pop cans.

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    • Posted by Community Pride on

      Nuuk is far cleaner. Iqaluit has no community pride in keeping it clean and the city does nothing to help the matter. Community garbage bins are always overflowing and people drop their trash wherever they are with zero regard (I see this happen EVERYDAY). Also, why isn’t the city fining businesses and other property owners for the trash and mess they have around their buildings? The 1 day a year community cleanup is also not enough to make much of a dent in it and few days later it looks like nothing was done. It’s very sad. This city could look amazing if the community pulled together to do something about it.

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      • Posted by Proper infrastructure on

        There is proper infrastructure and programs in Nuuk and the rest of Greenland that is lacking in Iqaluit and Nunavut.
        Recycling programs in Greenland, pop/beer bottles, water bottles, wine bottles, where you can recycle them at the store, right at the store at the entrance you can recycle all your bottles and can a ticket and have it paid out at the store or go towards your purchase of groceries.
        Incinerators for the landfills along with a recycling program makes a big difference in Greenland, we don’t have that for Iqaluit or the rest of Nunavut.
        The municipalities look after their roads in Greenland, paving and repaving, sidewalks and so on. Not how it’s done in Iqaluit where an expensive tender and contract for paving is done, instead of training the city road crew to do the work.
        Things like these go a long way in making a community clean and beautiful. Too many big companies in Nunavut that are used to the gravy train of contracts to get anything done. Makes it way too expensive to do and little to show for it.

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    • Posted by DoggyDo on

      Thats exactly what I noticed first, its really a shame Iqaluit can’t clean up it’s mess, it’s such a dirty city in the north.

  2. Posted by 😂 on

    Iqaluit similar to Nuuk are u kidding me 🤣 Iqaluit is the armpit of Baffin Island 😂 crack heads left right center 😂

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  3. Posted by Lifelong Nunavut Resident on

    The biggest barrier to growth and prosperity in Nunavut is the lack of support for small business. This important sector is stagnant or decreasing.
    FACT:
    Small businesses form the backbone of economies worldwide, contributing to economic development and prosperity in various ways: a) Job Creation: Small businesses are major job creators, providing employment opportunities for millions of people globally.

    Do we want the lowest bidder or do we want to build local economies? We can’t have both. To have more growth in our communities, you need small business to thrive which will increase available services and amenities. The Government of Nunavut does not even have a buy local policy so there is no incentive to invest in our communities. Its all about the lowest bidder so investing in one of our communities becomes a disadvantage. All the tendering by the GN is all about the low bidder! Why would you invest in a community just to increase overhead? You become less competitive as you are bidding against potato companies and southern based company with much lower overhead. So millions ends up flowing straight south which does not help any of our communities. Our Inuit Orgs and Hamlet are actually worse as they have no policies to support Inuit Owned or local businesses. Small businesses once thrived in the 70’s and 80’s with buy local policies in the NWT days. With Nunavut, the buy local policies went out the window. We cannot build local economies without small businesses thriving, that’s how you improve services and enjoy more amenities. We should encourage investment, you want to do business in our community, invest and then you can apply for “buy local” preference policies.

    Many small towns of 200, 300, etc in southern Canada have 10 times the services and amenities that we have, why? The communities support local and having a road system obviously creates a much bigger market/opportunity for the business owner.

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    • Posted by How it looks from here on

      “Small businesses once thrived in the 70’s and 80’s”

      Exactly, before the NLCA and the market distortions it introduced that have made business and investment in this territory an absolute non-starter.

    • Posted by You are Joking Right? on

      The assertion that Nunavut lacks support for small businesses and that this sector is stagnant overlooks the extensive support systems in place. Nunavut offers substantial financial aid through various grants, preferred loans, and tailored programs aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth. Government agencies, Inuit organizations, and other local entities provide these resources, ensuring that businesses have access to the capital they need.

      Beyond financial support, there are numerous mentorship and training programs designed to equip entrepreneurs with essential skills and knowledge. These initiatives, along with procurement training, help local businesses become competitive and sustainable.

      There is more support for business in Nunavut than anywhere else in Canada!

      The real barrier to growth in Nunavut is not a lack of support for businesses but rather the challenge of finding skilled let alone people who want to work and show up on time and consistently, to meet the demands of private business.
      The pervasive mentality among some government workers to simply show up and underperform stifles small business operations by creating an environment where higher performance and accountability are not the norm.

      Additionally, the jealousy and resentment from community members towards successful entrepreneurs further discourages business growth and innovation.

      Concerns about procurement policies favoring the lowest bidder are valid, but the NNI policy provides healthy bid adjustments for Nunavut, Local, and Inuit owned businesses. Sure they could be better, but there are many opportunities from the Federal and Territorial Government that no local businesses even bid on. So you can’t complain unless you bid!

      Nunavut provides substantial support for small businesses. The focus should be on addressing workforce issues and ending the government employee mentality of 45min coffee breaks and hour and a half lunch’s.

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      • Posted by Very serious on

        The bandaid support you just mentioned does very little for local businesses, start of the 90s and early 2000s the GN started changing its tender and contracts to suit the large southern companies, the majority of the contracts are designed in a way for the larger southern companies and have cut the local and small businesses out,
        The number of real businesses in Nunavut have pretty much disappeared and now we have companies that do work in Nunavut not from Nunavut with a token head and name pretending to be from Nunavut.
        There is very little support for small businesses in Nunavut, after the GN made its changes and destroyed the small businesses and had the large companies move in for good we have these token support for local businesses. Which does little to nothing in comparison to the amount of funds contracts that are divided between a handful for southern companies. Including the supposedly Inuit business corporations that are mainly from certain east coast regions.

    • Posted by Tender on

      The tender process prioritizes Inuit-owned and local businesses first. The sad thing is, many of those contractors are just a middle-man; they buy the cheapest price from the south, then sell them to the GN at a large markup. I don’t mind supporting local businesses, but when it’s clearly just a greedy cash grab by being a middle-man, I have little sympathy for them.

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      • Posted by nemrode on

        One part of the problem is that some local company just do bad work that is not according to specifications and gets away with it because some are looking the other way, if all the work was done as per tender a lot less think would break and then cost less on repair… Why are some company taking twice as long to do the work as per tender and the City does nothing

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      • Posted by Adding costs on

        There are policies in place that so I am confused how small business are not supported… In the tender process you receive the following advantage: 7% Inuit owned, 7% local 7% for NTI status for a total of 21%.

        These programs add huge costs to goods taking away money that can be spend elsewhere.

        For example if you watch the tender site the GN procures Dell computers every couple of weeks for different departments. The most cost effective way to procure these would be to go to Dell and say we will buy X # of computer what is our volume discount. Yet anyone who qualifies from the 21% advantage can buy these retail from Dell and mark them up 21% and get the contract. This money could go to other things but we have chosen to subsidy a singular business owner. Good or Bad that is what is happening

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    • Posted by Normand Marineau on

      The said policy will never happen.

  4. Posted by Go Figure on

    Iqaluit is quite different from Nuuk in terms of education, colorful houses, cleanliness of the streets and surroundings, and buildings. In Iqaluit, you may have to pay exorbitant prices for country food at restaurants, if any are even served.

    Inuktitut is the dominant language in Greenland, and the infrastructure, education, healthcare, and economy are about 20 years more advanced than those in Iqaluit.

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  5. Posted by Rankin for Capital on

    Transportation is the number 1 reason for Greenland’s success and difference. Put a road and power line into the Kivalliq region of Nunavut and you will see the same infrastructure develop. Iqaluit is the Capital but it has Zero growth capacity. There is no room to build, there are no natural resources to export, they have 3 flights south a week, and no capability of a road system south. Making Iqaluit the capital was sooo dumb and makes/made no sense.
    Connection to the world makes a place grow, Period.

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    • Posted by Yuck on

      Gross, Rankin is like an open pit garbage dump. Such a filthy town.

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      • Posted by Uaakallak on

        There are still people mad and obsessed over the thought of RI being capital? It’s so dirty, problematic, flat and ugly there.

  6. Posted by AK on

    It’s great to hear that Nuuk’s thriving. The Nuuk Centre opened in 2012, though, not in the last decade, and Qinngorput existed then as well.

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  7. Posted by Bertrand Russell on

    If Nuuk’s growth is mainly based on people giving up on smaller community life, then there really is nothing aspirational about their progress and development.

    We did not create a capital of Nunavut and a new territory to all become city folks, depopulating our territory in the process. No, the dream of a positive future for Nunavut does not result in a space in a genteel new burb in Iqaluit.

    It almost seems like today that the whole idea of decentralization has been abandoned in Nunavut. If, years from now, most of Nunavut lives in Iqaluit like most people in the Yukon live in Whitehorse, then the Nunavut experiment should be considered failed.

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    • Posted by Urbanization on

      Urbanization is, for better or worse, a global trend and isn’t unique to Greenland. The same is happening in Iceland and elsewhere – people want access to a higher standard of living and are massing in and around capitals. Part of what’s driving it in Greenland though is the massive difference between the standard of living in Nuuk and larger towns and the villages. The 70+ villages in Greenland do not even have flush toilets or running water and are bagging their own waste, no healthcare personnel or policing, limited access to groceries, etc.

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    • Posted by On the Other Hand on

      Mahy would say that the ‘Nunavut experiment’ has already failed.

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    • Posted by Tricia on

      Unfortunately people move where there are opportunities. For eg, where can a young person go to post secondary in Naujaat without going south or Rankin/Iqaluit? The last few years though Iqaluit has been a dumping ground for criminals from the communities. The amount of garbage, public intoxication, vandalism, etc are shocking. I’d like to hear about the economic situation in Nuuk in regards to social housing, how many of their residents depend on gov handout or popping babies because it is seen in NU as more lucrative than working. There was a post on FB a few days ago where a man said the high school students should be employed to pick up garbage around town. How about people don’t litter?? Take pride in your community. I have driven behind many drivers who throw their garbage, mostly coffee cups right out their vehicle window. And look at the blue multiplex units in front of Arctic Ventures, what an eyesore for the downtown core, you’d think the residents would take pride and at least clean it up!

  8. Posted by So on

    So you want to improve life and surroundings. Stop throwing your garbage in the streets, stop depending on SA, stop wrecking your PH and SH, take care of your equipment, get a job, buy a home show up for work every day, lend a hand to others, volunteer, stop drugs and booze, report dealers of drugs and booze, start a small company, hire local. Do you think every community became successful by sitting around waiting for someone else to do, no they arrived with little or nothing, worked and sweated and carved out thier own place in the world. They worked together and in some cases fought together to protect what they did. Don’t wait for the Gov. To give you bonuses for operating locally, you already have an advantage, you are there, you know how thi gs work. Put your head down, get to the task at hand, stop star gazing and you will see success. I works if you work at it. Oh, “Stay in school kids and don’t do drugs”. Just some things to think about but don’t spend too much time thinking start doing.

  9. Posted by InukMa on

    As an individual. I own my own business!

    You are nothing.

    Tried to fix something that doesn’t need fixing

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  10. Posted by InukMa on

    I get my land and sad food free! Must be a visitor

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  11. Posted by 😂 on

    I’d rather die then live in Iqaluit hell I moved to cape Dorset before moving to iqaluit 🤣 the two worst places on earth 😂

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  12. Posted by Also on

    The Iqaluit current terminal is relatively new but there was one for a long time before 2017 (I do not know when the yellow terminal was built but a journalist could fact find this) and the long airstrip we have has been there possibly since the 1950s US military station was installed (again, a bit of research could confirm this).

    And while we may aspire to many things, it seems that the message that is being conveyed here is that Nuuk may be “inspirational”.

  13. Posted by Mit on

    Couple interesting facts about greenland:

    -Inuit are not recognized by the Danish government. They are just Danish citizens, that is all.
    -Greenland’s jail actually rehabilitates people.
    -Most communities in greenland don’t have roads or running water.
    -Many communities have local bars and there are no dry communities.
    -Hunting is only permitted by dog team, no motorized vehicles
    -Only greenlandic dogs are allowed north of Nuuk to avoid mixed breeding

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  14. Posted by John on

    Major difference between the two cities – Nuuk has a year round, ice free deep sea port. Iqaluit does not. To get building materials into Iqaluit, you will face a very limited shipping season. Outside of the shipping season, any building materials have to be flown in ( very expensive and cost prohibitive). Same can be said for any supplies into Iqaluit- if you can’t get it on the sealift or the new deep sea port, then the price triples, or more.

    This will definitely put a damper on any free market growth or expansion.

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