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Backgrounders / People

Population:

The Inuit have inhabited the northern Quebec territory of Nunavik for more than 4,000 years. Over the past 300 years, the most substantial and long-standing contact between the Inuit of Nunavik and Europeans was with Anglican Missionaries, traders, and the Hudson's Bay Company. Inuit were a nomadic people. It was only in the early 1950s that Inuit adopted a more sedentary lifestyle by establishing residence in permanent villages.
There are 9,200 Inuit in Nunavik, living in 15 villages along the Ungava Bay, Hudson's Straight, and Hudson's Bay coasts. The communities are between 1,000 and 1,900 kilometers north of Montreal. All but three of these communities have less than 1,000 inhabitants. The largest communities are Kuujjuaq, Puvirnituq, and Inukjuak. Inuit are Canadian citizens, and pay all federal and provincial sales and income taxes. There are approximately 900 non-Inuit residents living in Nunavik.
The population of Nunavik is young. More than 60% of the Inuit population is under the age of 30, twice that of southern Quebec. The natural population growth rate among Inuit is three to four times higher than the Quebec average. Life expectancy increased dramatically since the 1950s, from an average age of 48 years to the current life expectancy of 62.
Schools were first established by the federal government in the 1950s. The Education system is currently operated by the Kativik School Board (KSB). Students are taught in Inuktitut until the third grade, at which time they choose a second language of instruction. The Inuit language and culture continue to be taught throughout primary and secondary school. The level of language retention in Nunavik is over 95% among Inuit-Inuktitut remains the dominant language spoken.
The predominant religion in Nunavik is Anglican.

Territory:

The Inuit Territory of Nunavik is approximately 660,000km2, making up one third of the province of Quebec. There are no road links to Nunavik from the South, and no roads linking its communities. Air service provides the only year-round link between the communities, and elsewhere. Maritime service is seasonal in the summer and fall. The lack of proper port facilities increases the costs and difficulties of shipping to the region.
The territory of Nunavik - formerly called Rupert's Land - was incorporated within the boundaries of Canada at the time of Confederation in 1867.
The 1912 Boundaries Extension Act transferred jurisdiction over Nunavik to the province of Quebec, on condition that outstanding indigenous rights to the territory be settled.
Quebec "discovered" Nunavik in the 1950s when interest in mining and hydro-electric mega-projects were seen as major economic development initiatives for Quebec. Interest solidified in the 1960s with the creation of the Direction Génerale du Nouveau Québec (DGNQ), and the announcement in 1970 to build the James Bay Hydro-electric project.
The Cree and Inuit went to court to contest the building of the La Grande Hydro project (part of the James Bay complex). This court challenge lead to Quebec agreeing to fulfill their obligation contained in the 1912 Boundaries Extension Act, and resulted in the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
Nunavik is part of the circumpolar world, comprising (from east to west) Greenland, Labrador, Nunavut, the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and Siberia (Russia).