In 1993, two significant pieces of Canadian legislation were passed leading to the creation of Nunavut, a new Canadian territory in the Arctic. One piece of legislation ratified a land claims agreement with the Inuit of Nunavut and the other set the legal framework for the establishment of the government of the Canadian territory of Nunavut by April 1, 1999.
Nunavut Geography
The word "Nunavut" means "our land" in Inuktitut, the Inuit language. To put the geography of this vast Canadian territory in perspective, Nunavut covers more than 2 million sq. km, (over 800,000 sq. miles) or approximately one-fifth the total area of Canada. The total population of Nunavut is approximately 29,000, about 80 percent of whom are Inuit. Canada has a total population of around 30 million, and a total Inuit population of about 25,000.
Government of Nunavut
The steps leading up to the establishment of Nunavut can be found in Road to Nunavut, a chronological history.
The first Nunavut election was held in 1999, and 19 members were elected to the Nunavut Legislative Assembly. Unlike provincial legislatures in Canada, the Nunavut Legislative Assembly does not operate on the basis of political parties, but operates on a consensus basis. With the party system, the leader of the party which wins the most seats in an election becomes premier. In Nunavut, the elected members choose the premier and cabinet ministers. The premier then assigns portfolios to the ministers. The first Premier of Nunavut was Paul Okalik, Canada's first Inuit lawyer who had been called to the bar just the month before.
Since the new Nunavut government was established on April 1, 1999, it has been undergoing rapid changes. You can track many of those changes at the Nunavut government Web site.
Nunavut Travel
If you plan to travel to Nunavut, or just want to learn more about life in the far north of Canada, don't miss Nunavut Tourism. It includes information on individual Nunavut communities, as well as important travel basics for adventure, ecotourism and business travel.
