View source for Kitikmeot Region

{{For|the former region with similar but non-coterminal boundaries|Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Kitikmeot
| official_name                   = Kitikmeot Region
| native_name                     = {{native name|iu|ᕿᑎᕐᒥᐅᑦ}}
| other_name                      = ''Qitirmiut''
| image_map                       = {{Location map+|CAN NU Kitikmeot|caption=|float=center|places =
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Umingmaktok]]
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|position = left
|lat_deg = 67|lat_min = 41|lat_sec = 56|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 107|lon_min = 55|lon_sec = 27|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut|Bathurst Inlet]]
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|position = bottom
|lat_deg = 66|lat_min = 50|lat_sec = 00|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 108|lon_min = 02|lon_sec = 00|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = ''[[Cambridge Bay]]''
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Town.svg|marksize = 8|label_size = 120
|position = top
|lat_deg = 69|lat_min = 07|lat_sec = 02|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 105|lon_min = 03|lon_sec = 11|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Gjoa Haven]]
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|position = bottom
|lat_deg = 68|lat_min = 37|lat_sec = 33|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 095|lon_min = 52|lon_sec = 30|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Kugaaruk]]
|position = left
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|lat_deg = 68|lat_min = 31|lat_sec = 59|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 089|lon_min = 49|lon_sec = 36|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Kugluktuk]]
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|position = top
|lat_deg = 67|lat_min = 49|lat_sec = 32|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 115|lon_min = 05|lon_sec = 42|lon_dir = W }}
{{Location map~ |CAN NU Kitikmeot
|label = [[Taloyoak]]
|mark = Western Canada Map Assets Village.svg|marksize = 6
|position = top
|lat_deg = 69|lat_min = 32|lat_sec = 13|lat_dir = N|lon_deg = 093|lon_min = 31|lon_sec = 36|lon_dir = W }}
}}
| map_caption                     = Communities of the Kitikmeot
| image_map1                      = File:Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut.svg
| map_caption1                    = Location in Nunavut
| seat_type                       = Regional centre
| seat                            = [[Cambridge Bay]]
| settlement_type                 = [[List of regions of Nunavut|Region]]
| area_footnotes = &nbsp;(2021)<ref name="2021censusregion"/>
| area_total_km2                  = 432,108.00
| population_footnotes  = <ref name="2021censusregion"/>
| population_as_of  = 2021
| population_total                = 6,458
| population_density_km2          = auto
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = Canada
| subdivision_type1               = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Nunavut]]
}}

'''Kitikmeot Region''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɪ|t|ə|k|m|j|uː|t}};<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxrJz86zqLc&t=58s Kitikmeot Students Thank You 2013] (February 22, 2013).</ref> [[Inuktitut]]: ''Qitirmiut'' {{lang|iu|ᕿᑎᕐᒥᐅᑦ}} {{Pronunciation-needed}}) is an [[List of regions of Nunavut|administrative region]] of [[Nunavut]], Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of [[Victoria Island]] with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the [[Boothia Peninsula]], together with [[King William Island]] and the southern portion of [[Prince of Wales Island (Nunavut)|Prince of Wales Island]]. The regional centre is [[Cambridge Bay]] (population 1,760<ref name="Hamlets"/>).

Before 1999, Kitikmeot Region existed under slightly different boundaries as [[Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories]].

==Transportation==

[[File:Aerial view of Cambridge Bay in May.JPG|thumb|left|Cambridge Bay in May]]

Access to the territorial capital of [[Iqaluit]] is difficult and expensive as there are no direct flights from Kitikmeot Region communities to Iqaluit. For example, Iqaluit is approximately {{cvt|1069|km}} from [[Kugaaruk]], the closest Kitikmeot community. A one-way flight to the capital costs between $3,000 and $4,000 (as of April 2025)<ref>[https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhopEgoyMDI1LTA1LTEwag0IAhIJL20vMGJiMGRscgwIAhIIL20vMDNyXzFAAUgBcAGCAQsI____________AZgBAg&hl=en&gl=ca&curr=CAD Google - Canadian North]</ref> and involves flying to, along with an overnight stay in, [[Yellowknife]], [[Northwest Territories]], approximately {{Cvt|1310|km}} southwest of Kugaaruk—in total, a trip of about {{cvt|3627|km}}.

As is the case for the rest of Nunavut, there is no road access to the region and all places are fly-in. All five [[Hamlet (place)#Canada|hamlets]] have certified airports: [[Cambridge Bay Airport]], [[Gjoa Haven Airport]], [[Kugaaruk Airport]], [[Kugluktuk Airport]] and [[Taloyoak Airport]], with scheduled flights by [[Canadian North]].<ref name="CFS">{{CFS}}</ref>

[[File:Gjoa Haven.jpg|thumb|left|Street in Gjoa Haven]]
There are also four registered [[aerodrome]]s in the region. [[Cambridge Bay Water Aerodrome]] is a [[floatplane]] base open in the summer only. [[George Lake Aerodrome]], an ice runway is only open from January to April, and serves the Back River Gold Project. [[Goose Lake Aerodrome]] also serves the Back River Gold Project and has both ice and gravel runways. [[Hope Bay Aerodrome]] serves the Hope Bay mine site and is a gravel runway. The former [[Doris Lake Aerodrome]], was a {{convert|7894|ft|abbr=on}} ice runway, and was the longest in the region, it served the Doris Lake mine.<ref name="CFS"/>

==Climate==
The Kitikmeot Region has a harsh [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Dfc'') and a [[tundra climate]] (''Dfc'') with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. 

{{Kugluktuk weatherbox}}

{{Cambridge Bay weatherbox}}

==Politics==
The region is home to the only two communities in Nunavut that voted "no" in the [[1982 Northwest Territories division plebiscite|1982 division plebiscite]]: [[Cambridge Bay]] and [[Kugluktuk]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://economics.ca/cgi/jab?journal=cpp&view=v11n1/CPPv11n1p001.pdf |title=Detailed Break down of Plebiscite results |access-date=October 5, 2009 |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210070714/https://economics.ca//cgi/jab?journal=cpp&view=v11n1%2FCPPv11n1p001.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Taloyoak 01.jpg|thumb|Taloyoak]]
The region has four [[Electoral district (Canada)|electoral districts]];
*[[Cambridge Bay (electoral district)|Cambridge Bay]], which covers [[Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut|Bathurst Inlet]], Cambridge Bay and [[Umingmaktok]]. The seat is held by [[Pam Gross|Pamela Gross]].
*[[Gjoa Haven (electoral district)|Gjoa Haven]], which covers the community of [[Gjoa Haven]] and is held by [[Tony Akoak]].
*[[Kugluktuk (electoral district)|Kugluktuk]], which covers Kugluktuk. The seat is currently held by [[Bobby Anavilok]].
*[[Netsilik (electoral district)|Netsilik]], which covers [[Taloyoak]] and [[Kugaaruk]]. The seat is held by [[Inagayuk Quqqiaq]].

Former districts include [[Akulliq]], which covered Kugaaruk and [[Naujaat]] in the [[Kivalliq Region]]. It was the only [[List of Nunavut territorial electoral districts|electoral district in Nunavut]] to cross two regions. [[Nattilik]], which covered Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak was held between 2004 and 2008 by [[Leona Aglukkaq]], who went on to win the [[2008 Canadian federal election]] for the [[Nunavut (electoral district)|electoral district of Nunavut]] and became the [[Minister of Health (Canada)|Minister of Health]] and then the [[Minister of Environment and Climate Change|Minister of Environment]] in the [[Government of Canada|federal government]].

In 2007 at their AGM, Bobby Lyall, a board member of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and younger brother of [[Bill Lyall]], suggested the formation of a political party called the ''Bloc Kitikmeot'' to run in the next [[2008 Nunavut general election|general election]] and to advocate for a separate Kitikmeot Territory. Bobby Lyall, along with his brother Kitikmeot Corporation president, Charlie Lyall and delegates Martina and Connie Kapolak, argued that the [[Government of Nunavut]] had spent most of the infrastructure money available from the federal government in the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Baffin Region]] (Qikiqtaaluk Region).<ref name="separate">{{cite web|url=http://www.nunatsiaqnews.com/archives/2007/710/71026/news/nunavut/71026_635.html|title=What's next? The new territory of Kitikmeot? | publisher=[[Nunatsiaq News]] | date = October 26, 2007 | author=Jane George | access-date=October 5, 2009}}</ref> However, the party was not formed and consequently no members ran for a seat in the [[Legislative Assembly of Nunavut]] which continues to run as a [[Consensus democracy|consensus government]].

==Communities==
===Hamlets===
[[File:View of Kugaaruk.jpg|thumb|Hamlet of Kugaaruk]]
There are five hamlets in the region:<ref name="Hamlets">{{cite web |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Taloyoak&DGUIDlist=2021A00056208073,2021A00056208081,2021A00056208047,2021A00056208059,2021A00056208087&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table: Cambridge Bay, Hamlet (HAM) Nunavut [Census subdivision] & Gjoa Haven, Hamlet (HAM) Nunavut [Census subdivision] & Kugaaruk, Hamlet (HAM) Nunavut [Census subdivision] & Kugluktuk, Hamlet (HAM) Nunavut [Census subdivision] & Taloyoak, Hamlet (HAM) Nunavut [Census subdivision] |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |date=August 2, 2024 |access-date=May 10, 2025}}</ref>{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Cambridge Bay]] population: 1,760
*[[Gjoa Haven]] population: 1,349
*[[Kugaaruk]] population: 1,033
*[[Kugluktuk]] population: 1,382
*[[Taloyoak]] population: 934
{{div col end}}
[[File:Kugluktuk.jpg|thumb|Kugluktuk]]
===Other===
There are three other [[Census geographic units of Canada#Census subdivisions|census subdivisions]] in the Kitikmeot:<ref name="censusdivisionkitikmeot">{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Kitikmeot&DGUIDlist=2021A00056208065,2021A00056208068,2021A00056208098&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table: Bathurst Inlet, Settlement (SET) Nunavut [Census subdivision] & Umingmaktok, Settlement (SET) Nunavut [Census subdivision] &Kitikmeot, Unorganized, Unorganized (NO) Nunavut [Census subdivision] |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=May 10, 2025 |date=August 2, 2024}}</ref>{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut|Bathurst Inlet]] population: 0
*[[Umingmaktok]] population: 0
*[[Kitikmeot, Unorganized]] population: 0
{{div col end}}

==Protected areas==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Ovayok Territorial Park]]
*[[Northwest Passage Territorial Park]]
*[[Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park]]
*[[Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary]]
*[[Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site|Wrecks of HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror'' National Historic Site]]
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
In the [[2021 Canadian census]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], the Kitikmeot Region had a population of 6,458 living in 1,677 of its 1,954 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:6458-6543}}|6543|1}} from its 2016 population of 6,543. With a land area of {{cvt|432108|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|6458|432108|km2|sqmi|prec=3}} in 2021.<ref name="2021censusregion">{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Qikiqtaaluk&DGUIDlist=2021A00036208,2021A00036205,2021A00036204&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0 | title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table: Kitikmeot, Region (REG) Nunavut [Census division] & Kivalliq, Region (REG) Nunavut [Census division] & Qikiqtaaluk, Region (REG) Nunavut [Census division] | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=August 2, 2024 | accessdate=May 10, 2025}}</ref>

The Kitikmeot Region also doubles as one of three [[Census geographic units of Canada|census divisions]] in Nunavut, the others being the [[Kivalliq Region|Kivalliq]]<ref name="2021censusregion"/> (also known as the Keewatin) and the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]<ref name="2021censusregion"/> (formerly known as the Baffin) regions. Of the three the Kitikmeot is the smallest in size being {{cvt|2223.16|km2}} smaller than the Kivalliq.<ref name="2021censusregion"/> It has the smallest population and is the least densely populated of the three. The population is predominantly [[Inuit]] (89.3%) with 0.5% other [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples]], 0.2% [[First Nations in Canada|North American Indian]] and 0.3% [[Métis]], and 10.2% non-Indigenous.<ref name="2021censusregion"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Bromley, Robert Graham H., and Bruce D. McLean. ''[ Raptor Surveys in the Kitikmeot and Baffin Regions, Northwest Territories, 1983 and 1984]''. Yellowknife, NWT: Dept. of Renewable Resources, Govt. of the Northwest Territories, 1986.
* Gunn, A. ''Polar Bear Denning Surveys in the Kitikmeot Region, 1977–86''. Coppermine, NWT: Dept. of Renewable Resources, Govt. of the Northwest Territories, 1991.
* Inuit Gallery of Vancouver. ''Kitikmeot Land of the Spirits''. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1991. {{ISBN|0-9693315-6-8}}
* Kassam, K.-A. S. 2002. "Thunder on the Tundra: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit of the Bathurst Caribou, by Natasha Thorpe, Naikak Hakongak, Sandra Eyegetok, and the Kitikmeot Elders". ''Arctic''. 55: 395.
* Kitikmeot Education Resource Centre. ''Living and Teaching in the Kitikmeot Region''. [Cambridge Bay, N.W.T.]: Kitikmeot Education Resource Centre, 1984.
* Kitikmeot Inuit Association. ''Central Arctic Regional Land Claims Proposal for Social, Education Self-Determination''. [Cambridge Bay, N.W.T.?]: Kitikmeot Inuit Association, 1979.
* Northwest Territories. ''Economic Facts, Kitikmeot Region''. [Yellowknife]: N.W.T. Dept. of Economic Development & Tourism, 1989.
* Northwest Territories. ''Kitikmeot Health Care''. [Yellowknife]: Northwest Territories Health, 1982.
* Sato, Riki. ''The Directory of Community Groups, Inuvik and Kitikmeot Regions''. Inuvik, N.W.T.: NOGAP Steering Committee, 1988.
* Todd, John. ''North Slave Kitikmeot Mineral Development''. Yellowknife, N.W.T.: Govt. of the N.W.T.], 1993.
* West Kitikmeot Slave Study Society. ''West Kitikmeot Slave study''. Yellowknife: West Kitikmeot Slave Study Society, 2002.
{{refend}}

== External links ==

{{Portal|Geography|Canada}}

* [http://www.explorenunavut.com/kitikmeot.php Kitikmeot Region information at Explore Nunavut] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509154259/http://www.explorenunavut.com/kitikmeot.php |date=May 9, 2012 }}
* [http://www.kitikmeotheritage.ca/ Kitikmeot Heritage Society]
* [http://www.kitia.ca/ Kitikmeot Inuit Association]
** [http://www.kitikmeotcorp.ca/ Kitikmeot Corporation], economic development
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190806194533/http://kitikmeot.edu.nu.ca/ Kitikmeot School Operations]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre    = Kitikmeot Region
 | North     = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
 | Northeast = 
 | East      = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
 | Southeast = [[Kivalliq Region]]
 | South     = [[North Slave Region]], [[Northwest Territories]]
 | Southwest = [[Sahtu Region]], [[Northwest Territories]]
 | West      = [[Inuvik Region]], [[Northwest Territories]]
 | Northwest =
}}
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|68|55|N|100|45|W|region:CA-NU_type:adm2nd_scale:10000000|display=title|name=Kitikmeot Region}}

[[Category:Kitikmeot Region| ]]
[[Category:Census divisions of Nunavut]]