Capital City

The capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit. It became the capital on April 1, 1999 when the new territory of Nunavut was officially born. The name iqaluit actually means many fish in Inuktitut, the aboriginal language of this territory. The first people to settle this place were the Americans in 1942. They used it as an air base during the Second World War. That was when Canadians decided to name the city Frobisher Bay because that is the body of water the city lies beside. When Canada created the territory of Nunavut, the city returned to it's original aboriginal name. Iqaluit was chosen by people all across the territory to be capital. Everyone voted and Iqaluit was selected over Rankin Inlet. As well as being Canada's newest and most northerly capital, Iqaluit is also Canada's fastest growing community. As of the 2006 census, Iqaluit's population was 6,184. This was a huge increase (almost 20% in five years) since 2001. People that live in Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut (more than one) or Iqalummiuq (only one).