Iqaluit

Iqaluit (Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ; [iqaːluit]) is the largest city and territorial capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It was officially called Frobisher Bay until 1987, after the name of the bay on whose shore it is sited. Iqaluit is located on the south coast of Baffin Island at the head of Frobisher Bay. As of the 2011 census the population was 6,699, an increase of 8.3 percent from the 2006 census; it has the lowest population of any capital city in Canada. Inhabitants of Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut (singular: Iqalummiuq).

History

Iqaluit has been a traditional fishing place used by Inuit for thousands of years, hence the name Iqaluit, which means place of many fish. In 1942 an American air base was built there, intended to provide a stop-over and refuelling site for short range aircraft being ferried across the Atlantic to support the war effort in Europe. Iqaluit's first permanent resident was Nakasuk, an Inuk guide who helped American Air Force planners to choose a site with a large flat area suitable for a landing strip. The wartime airstrip was known as Crystal Two and was part of the Crimson Route. Long regarded as a campsite and fishing spot by the Inuit, the place chosen had traditionally been named Iqaluit – "place of many fish" in Inuktitut – but Canadian and American authorities named it Frobisher Bay, after the name of the body of water it abuts. For the history of the air base, see Frobisher Bay Air Base.