It was on April 1, 1999 that Nunavut was declared a territory. Located in Canada’s far north, Nunavut is nearly 2 million square kilometres in size making it the largest of Canada’s territories and provinces.

Did you know Nunavut is the size of Western Europe? You could fit almost two Ontarios inside Nunavut’s borders. Did you know that Nunavut’s capital city, Iqaluit, used to be called Frobisher Bay? Or that the average monthly temperature in Iqaluit in December is -22.1C? Or that snowmobiles are a popular form of transportation?

Nunavut is home to many hardy animals who are well-equipped to survive the cold, arctic weather. They include polar bears, walrus, muskox, ringed seal, narwhal and caribou. In fact, caribou outnumber people in Nunavut by nearly 25 to 1.

To help kids learn more about our northern cousins, we sent reporter Mike Ruta and photographer Walter Passarella on a journey to Nunavut where they talked to students, took part in cultural activities and enjoyed some traditional Inuit food. What they discovered can be found here at ‘North to Nunavut’.

Our thanks to Ontario Power Generation who sponsored the ‘North to Nunavut’ project; to First Air who helped get us there; and to Andrea Pidwerbecki and Nazneen Dindar from the Durham District School Board for their guidance.

Download Canada Mapping Activity