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Iqaluit: the new capital
Iqaluit (ee-ka-loo-eet) is NUNAVUT'S LARGEST COMMUNITY and will serve as the capital. The town, whose name means "place of fish" in Inuktitut, was chosen in a Nunavut-wide public vote. Iqaluit is located on Frosbisher Bay's Koojesse Inlet on the southern end of Baffin Island, surrounded by the rolling tundra of the Hall Peninsula. The Inuit have been living along the shores of Frosbisher Bay for hundreds of years.The town's modern history began in 1942 with the establishment of a U.S Air Force Base.Until 1987, it was called Frobisher Bay, after British explorer Sir Martin Frobisher, who landed in the area in 1576 while searching for the Northwest passage.
Today Iqaluit is a community with a mix of cultures and languages --- Inuktitut, English and French. About two-thirds of its residents are Inuit, compared to 90 percent in other Nunavut communities. The town is a bustling government, transportation and business centre with its small satellite community, Apex, eight kilometres to the east. Iqaluit's population has doubled in the last 20 years --- and is expected to continue to boom as it emerges as Canada's newest capital.
Iqaluit by numbers
Population (estimated) on April 1, 1999: 4,556 (17 percent of Nunavut's total) Percentage of population under 25: 49
Number of landings and take-offs at Iqaluit Airport in 1997: 16,176, or 44 a day Number of government jobs (territorial and municipal) by 2000 in Iqaluit: 904 Unemployment Rate: 19 percent
Average Income: $35,636
Licensed vehicles per 1,000 people: 224
Number of taxis: 40
Number of schools: 4 elementary, 1 high school and college
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Sculpture 
