Iqaluit, Nunavut
Iqaluit is the territorial capital and the largest community of Canada's youngest territory, Nunavut. Its population is mainly comprised of Inuit. The town was selected to serve as the new territory's capital in a territory-wide referendum, in which it beat Rankin Inlet.
The town is located on Frobisher Bay on the southwest part of Baffin Island, in the Arctic Ocean to the east of the territory's mainland, and to the north of Hudson Bay. Inhabitants of Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut (singular, Iqalummiuk).
Begun as an American airbase in World War II, the population of the town of Frobisher Bay increased rapidly during the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW line, a system of radar stations, see NORAD) in the 1950s.
On January 1, 1987, the name of this municipality was officially changed from "Frobisher Bay" to "Iqaluit", which means "place of many fish" in Inuktitut.
Community profile
According to the 2001 census:
| Population: | 5,236 (+24.1% from 1996)
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| Land area: | 52.34 km²
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| Population density: | 100.0 people/km²
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| Median age: | 28.3 (males: 28.6, females: 27.9)
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| Total private dwellings: | 2,105
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| Median household income: | $69,650
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