Nunavut ᓄᓇᕗᑦ (Inuktitut) |
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Motto: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᓴᙱᓂᕗᑦ (Inuktitut) "Nunavut Sannginivut" "Our land, our strength" |
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Confederation | April 1, 1999 (13th) | ||
Capital | Iqaluit | ||
Largest city | Iqaluit | ||
Government | |||
• Commissioner | Nellie Kusugak | ||
• Premier | Peter Taptuna (consensus government) | ||
Legislature | Legislative Assembly of Nunavut | ||
Federal representation | (in Canadian Parliament) | ||
House seats | 1 of 338 (0.3%) | ||
Senate seats | 1 of 105 (1%) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 2,038,722 km2 (787,155 sq mi) | ||
• Land | 1,877,787 km2 (725,018 sq mi) | ||
• Water | 160,935 km2 (62,137 sq mi) 7.9% | ||
Area rank | Ranked 1st | ||
20.4% of Canada | |||
Population (2016) | |||
• Total | 35,944 | ||
• Estimate (2017 Q1) | 37,280 | ||
• Rank | Ranked 12th | ||
• Density | 0/km2 (0/sq mi) | ||
Demonym(s) | Nunavummiut (sing.) |
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Official languages |
English French Inuit Language (Inuktitut Inuinnaqtun) |
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GDP | |||
• Rank | 13th | ||
• Total (2011) | C$1.964 billion | ||
• Per capita | C$58,452 (6th) | ||
Time zone | UTC-5, UTC-6, UTC-7 | ||
Postal abbr. | NU | ||
Postal code prefix | X | ||
ISO 3166 code | CA-NU | ||
Flower | Purple Saxifrage | ||
Tree | n/a | ||
Bird | Rock Ptarmigan | ||
Website | www |
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Rankings include all provinces and territories |
Nunavut (/ˈnuːnəˌvʊt/; from Inuktitut: syllabics ᓄᓇᕗᑦ [ˈnunavut]; French pronunciation: [nunavut]) is the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the boundaries had been contemplatively drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949.
Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, as well as North America's second-largest (after Greenland). The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay"), on Baffin Island in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the far north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west and Akimiski Island in James Bay far to the southeast of the rest of the territory. It is Canada's only geo-political region that is not connected to the rest of North America by highway.