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Tuktoyaktuk Tuktuyaaqtuuq (Inuvialuktun)Port Brabant (formerly)
Hamlet
North Warning System radar station at Tuktoyaktuk
Seal
Nickname: Tuk
TuktoyaktukShow map of Northwest TerritoriesTuktoyaktukShow map of Canada
Coordinates: 69°27′03″N 133°02′09″W / 69.45083°N 133.03583°W / 69.45083; -133.03583
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Region	Inuvik Region
Electoral district	Nunakput
Census division	Region 1
Settled	1928
Incorporated	1 April 1970
Government
• Mayor	Erwin Elias
• Senior Administrative Officer	Holly Campbell
• MLA	Lucy Kuptana
• Member of Parliament	Michael McLeod
• Senator	Margaret Dawn Anderson
Area
• Land	12.66 km (4.89 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (15 ft)
Population
• Total	937
• Density	74.0/km (192/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Canadian Postal code	X0E 1C0
Area code	867
Telephone exchange	977
– Living cost (2018)	162.5
– Food price index (2019)	157.8
Website	http://www.tuktoyaktuk.ca
Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Canada Flight Supplement Northwestel Natural Resources Canada ^A 2018 figure based on Edmonton = 100 ^B 2019 figure based on Yellowknife = 100

Tuktoyaktuk (/ˌtʌktəˈjæktʌk/ TUK-tə-YAK-tuk; Inuvialuktun: Tuktuyaaqtuuq [təktujaːqtuːq], lit. 'it looks like a caribou') is an Inuvialuit hamlet near the Mackenzie River delta in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway. One of six Inuvialuit communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, it is commonly known by its first syllable, Tuk (/tʌk/). It lies north of the Arctic Circle on the Arctic Ocean, and is the only place on the Arctic Ocean connected to the rest of Canada by road. Known as Port Brabant after British colonization, in 1950 it became Canada's first Indigenous settlement to reclaim its traditional name.

History

Tuktoyaktuk is the anglicized form of the native Inuvialuit place-name, meaning "resembling a caribou". According to legend, a woman looked on as some caribou, common at the site, waded into the water and turned into stone. Today, reefs resembling petrified caribou are said to be visible at low tide along the shore of the town.

No formal archaeological sites exist today, the Inuvialuit have used the settlement for centuries as a place to harvest caribou and beluga whales. Tuktoyaktuk's natural harbour was also historically used to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements.

Between 1890 and 1910, many of Tuktoyaktuk's native families were wiped out in flu epidemics brought in by American whalers. In subsequent years, the Dene people, as well as residents of Herschel Island, settled here. By 1937, the Hudson's Bay Company had established a trading post. On 9 September 1944, a windstorm blew through the community, severely damaged several buildings and schooners docked at the harbour, and killed 11 people en route back from a reindeer station on the Anderson River on the schooner Cally.

Radomes were installed beginning in the 1950s as part of the Distant Early Warning Line, to monitor air traffic and detect possible Soviet intrusions during the Cold War. The settlement's location (and harbour) made Tuk important in resupplying the civilian contractors and Air Force personnel along the DEW Line. In 1947, Tuktoyaktuk became the site of one of the first government day schools, designed to forcibly assimilate Inuit youth into mainstream Canadian culture.

Tuktoyaktuk eventually became a base for the oil and natural gas exploration of the Beaufort Sea. Large industrial buildings remain from the busy period following the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries 1973 oil embargo and 1979 summertime fuel shortage. This brought many more outsiders into the region.

In late 2010, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced that it would undertake an environmental study of a proposed all-weather road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Work on the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway started on 8 January 2014, and the highway opened on 15 November 2017.

Geography

Tuktoyaktuk is on Kugmallit Bay, near the Mackenzie River Delta, and is on the Arctic tree line.

Tuktoyaktuk is the gateway for exploring Pingo Canadian Landmark, an area protecting eight nearby pingos in a region that contains about 1,350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills. The landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km (6.2 sq mi), just a few kilometres west of the community, and includes Ibyuk Pingo, Canada's highest, and the world's second-highest, pingo, at 49 m (161 ft).

Employment

Many locals still hunt, fish, and trap. Locals hunt caribou in the autumn and ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, and fish year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, berry picking, and reindeer herding. Most productivity today comes from tourism and transportation. Marine Transportation Services (MTS) is a major employer in the region, and the fossil fuel industry continues to employ explorers and other workers.

In 1962, the government-sponsored Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Project started; it provided vocational training in industrial sewing and commercial production of items for sale, including parkas, mitts, slippers, mukluks, hats, wall hangings, place mats and dolls produced by local women that were sold in the Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Shop. The shop closed in the 1980s.

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Tuktoyaktuk had a population of 937 living in 285 of its 334 total private dwellings, a change of 4.3% from its 2016 population of 898. With a land area of 12.66 km (4.89 sq mi), it had a population density of 74.0/km (191.7/sq mi) in 2021.

The average annual personal income in 2015 was $21,984 Canadian and the average family income was $55,424. Local languages are Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English with a few North Slavey and Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) speakers. Tuktoyaktuk is predominately Indigenous (90.8%) with Inuit (Inuvialuit) making up 88.0%, 9.2% non-Aboriginal, 1.7% First Nations and 1.1% giving multiple Indigenous backgrounds.

Climate

Tuktoyaktuk has a subarctic climate (Dfc), bordering on a tundra climate (ET), as the July mean temperature is barely above 10 °C (50 °F). Since the Arctic Ocean freezes over for much of the year, the maritime influence is minimized, resulting in cold winters and a strong seasonal lag in spring. This results in colder Aprils than Octobers and much colder Mays than Septembers. March is also colder than November.

Due to the dominance of cold air, Tuktoyaktuk has a lower precipitation rate than many desert climates. Still, the cold temperatures mean it receives more than a metre of snow a year on average. Owing to the thousands of kilometres of land south of Tuktoyaktuk, southerly winds can sometimes push warmer air into the region. Rex blocks can cause an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure to form at higher latitudes, allowing heat to build consistently. As a result, temperatures well above average can occur in summer despite the cold surrounding waters.

During a bout of exceptionally hot Arctic weather, Tuktoyaktuk was among the numerous northern communities that witnessed record temperatures on 4 July 2022, reaching a high of 29.9 °C (85.8 °F). Its overall highest temperature of 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) was recorded on 2 July 1998. Tuktoyaktuk's climate stands in stark contrast to those of Northern Norway at similar latitudes, but is in many ways less extreme than that of Eastern Canada at lower latitudes, where summers are cooler, moderated by the cool waters of the Hudson Bay.

Transportation

Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport links Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road formerly provided road access to Inuvik in the winter. In 2017, the $300-million Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway opened. It provides all-season access to Inuvik, which connects to the rest of the highway networks in Canada.

The airport previously had scheduled service from Inuvik operated by Aklak Air. Service was cancelled in 2018 after the opening of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway created a permanent link between the communities and resulted in a drop in demand for air service.

In popular culture

• In the third episode of Jesse James Is a Dead Man, originally aired on 14 June 2009 on Spike TV, Jesse James rides his motorcycle from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk to drop off medical supplies.
• On 3 September 1995, the Molson Brewing Company arranged for several popular rock bands to perform in Tuktoyaktuk as a publicity stunt promoting its new ice-brewed beer. During the months leading up to concert, radio stations across North America ran contests in which they gave away free tickets. Dubbed The Molson Ice Polar Beach Party, it featured Hole, Metallica, Moist, Cake, and Veruca Salt. Canadian filmmaker Albert Nerenberg made a documentary about the concert, Invasion of the Beer People.
• Tuktoyaktuk is featured in the Discovery Channel TV show Ice Road Truckers.
• The imaginary Tuktoyaktuk University, abbreviated "TUK-U", has been "emblazoned on hundreds of thousands of T-shirts that travelled the world".

See also

• List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories
• Territorial claims in the Arctic

Notes

1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
2. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
3. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

References

1. "Tuktoyaktuk". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
2. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Northwest Territories". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
3. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
4. "NWT Communities - Tuktoyaktuk". Government of the Northwest Territories: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
5. ^ "Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre – official names" (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2011.
6. Northwestel 2008 phone directory
7. Canadian Geographical Names Database – Native names for Native places Archived 1 October 2006 at archive.today
8. ^ Tuktoyaktuk – Statistical Profile at the GNWT
9. ^ Montgomery, Marc. "Canada now officially connected by road-coast to coast to coast", CBC Radio, 15 November 2017. Retrieved on 15 November 2017.
10. Lamb, David. "Driving to the top of the world: Exploring Canada's new Arctic highway", CBC, 18 April 2017. Retrieved on 15 November 2017.
11. Welcome To The Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk Website
12. "Infofile Detail – Native Names for Native Places". Edmonton Public Library. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
13. "Tourist guide". Tuk.ca. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008.
14. The Moccasin Telegraph, March 1945
15. Crowe, Keith J. (1991) . A History of the Original Peoples of Northern Canada (revised ed.). McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-0880-4.
16. Brant, Jennifer (1 May 2020). "Racial Segregation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
17. "Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry – Environmental Assessment Home Page". Ceaa.gc.ca. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
18. "Pingo Canadian Landmark". Parks Canada. 16 August 2024. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
19. Arnold, C (2019). "Sewing culture: the Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Shop". Tusaayaksat. Fall: 19–23.
20. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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22. "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order" (PDF). Statistics Canada. May 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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24. "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions - Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
25. "96 Census: A National Overview - Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1997. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
26. "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
27. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
28. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
29. Population Estimates By Community from the GNWT
30. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (26 October 2022). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
31. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 October 2021). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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33. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (20 August 2019). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
34. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2 July 2019). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
35. Digital Writers. "Arctic Circle snags some of Canada's hottest weather to start July". www.theweathernetwork.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
36. "Records may fall as impressive heat wave roasts the Arctic Circle". theweathernetwork.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
37. "Tuktoyaktuk". Daily Data Report for July 2022. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Climate ID: 2203914. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
38. "Tuktoyaktuk". Daily Data Report for July 1998. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Climate ID: 2203914. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
39. "Tuktoyaktuk Northwest Territories". Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
40. "Tuktoyaktuk A". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 Station Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Climate ID: 2203912. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
41. "Official Opening Ceremonies". Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Government of Northwest Territories. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
42. Stewart, Brian (23 October 2017). "New Arctic coast highway opens up remote Tuktoyaktuk". CBC News.
43. "Aklak Air cancels Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk flight service due to 'significant decline in demand'". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
44. "Arctic Bike Journey". IMDb.
45. "It took heart surgery for this man to open this giant bottle of wine after 2 decades | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
46. "Website for Invasion of the Beer People". Nutaaq.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021.
47. Kaplan, Don (2 April 2008). "Back on the 'ice road'". New York Post. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
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49. Harris, Kate (19 May 2014). "Tuktoyaktuk or Bust". The Walrus. Retrieved 21 July 2024.

External links

• Official site

v t e Communities of the Northwest Territories
Dehcho Region	Fort Liard Fort Simpson Jean Marie River Nahanni Butte Sambaa K'e Wrigley
Inuvik Region	Aklavik Fort McPherson Inuvik Paulatuk Sachs Harbour Tsiigehtchic Tuktoyaktuk Ulukhaktok
North Slave Region	Behchokǫ̀ Dettah Gamèti Łutselk'e Wekweeti Whatì Yellowknife (N'Dilo)
Sahtu Region	Colville Lake Délı̨nę Fort Good Hope Norman Wells Tulita
South Slave Region	Enterprise Fort Providence Fort Resolution Fort Smith Hay River Kakisa Kátł’odeeche
Category:Northwest Territories Portal:Canada WikiProject:Canadian Territories

• Communities in the Inuvik Region
• Hamlets in the Northwest Territories
• Inuit in the Northwest Territories
• Inuvialuit communities
• Populated places in Arctic Canada