page_title: Iqaluit
section_title: Transportation
hierarchical_section_title: Iqaluit / Infrastructure / Transportation
caption_attribution_description: Iqaluit airport
context_page_description: Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast of which the city is situated. In 1987, its traditional Inuktitut name was restored.
  In 1999, Iqaluit was designated the capital of Nunavut after the division of the Northwest Territories into two separate territories. Before this event, Iqaluit was a small city and not well known outside the Canadian Arctic or Canada, with population and economic growth highly limited. This is due to the city's isolation and heavy dependence on expensively imported supplies, as the city, like the rest of Nunavut, has no road or rail, and only has ship connections for part of the year to the rest of Canada. The city has a polar climate, influenced by the cold deep waters of the Labrador Current just off Baffin Island; this makes the city of Iqaluit cold, although it is well south of the Arctic Circle.
  As of the 2016 census, the population was 7,740, an increase of 15.5 percent from the 2011 census. Iqaluit has the lowest population of any capital city in Canada. Inhabitants of Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut.
context_section_description: Iqaluit is the smallest Canadian capital in terms of population, and the only capital that is not connected to other settlements by a highway. Located on an island remote from the Canadian highway system, Iqaluit is generally only accessible by aircraft and, subject to ice conditions, by boat.
  Iqaluit Airport is a modern facility with a runway long enough for most modern jet aircraft. A new, larger passenger terminal building north of the old terminal was completed in 2018.
  Canadian North serves Iqaluit from Ottawa, Yellowknife, and several communities in Nunavut. Locally based airlines Air Nunavut, Canadian Helicopters, Nunasi Helicopters, and Unaalik Aviation provide air charters, and Air Nunavut and Keewatin Air provide MEDIVAC/air ambulance service. Air Canada Jazz provided daily service to Iqaluit from Ottawa in 2010 and 2011, but cancelled service due to rising fuel costs, which prevented the route from being profitable.
  Iqaluit shared its runway with the Royal Canadian Air Force until the Canadian Forces stopped using Iqaluit as a Canadian NORAD Region Forward Operating Locations. The barracks and CF-188 hangars are maintained. The airport was a centre for cold-weather testing of new aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 in February 2006.
  Rumours that Iqaluit was an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle are false.
  In the middle of summer, a few ships—generally no larger than a Liberty-class vessel—transport bulk and heavy goods to the city. Cargo is currently off-loaded onto barges as the harbour is not deep enough, however the city is currently constructing a deepwater port which is expected to open in 2020. The port, which will cost approximately $72 million dollars, will provide all-tide access to ships and will have space for one ship to dock and unload, with the ability to offload a second using a barge-and-ramp method. Initial plans for the port included facilities for a vehicle ferry connection to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, however these plans were dropped due to high cost.  Experienced locals also cross the Hudson Strait from the Canadian mainland when it freezes over, either on foot or by dog sled or snowmobile, a distance of over 100 km (62 mi).
  Iqaluit has a local road system only stretching from the nearby community of Apex to the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, 1 km (0.62 mi) west of town. Iqaluit has no public transportation, although there is citywide taxi service. Iqaluit Public Transit used to offer bus service in the city, but the service was cancelled due to low ridership. Motor cars are increasing in number, to the extent of causing occasional traffic jams known locally as "the rush minute". However, the cost of shipping automobiles and the wear-and-tear of the harsh Arctic climate combined with its notoriously rough roadways mean that snowmobiles remain the preferred form of personal transportation. All-terrain vehicles are also common in most of the Canadian Arctic. Snowmobiles are used to travel within the city and in the surrounding area. In winter, dog sleds are still used, but primarily for recreation. In winter, the nearby Qaummaarviit Territorial Park and the more remote Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve are only accessible by snowmobile, dog sled or foot. In the summer, both are accessible by boat. Most major roads within Iqaluit are paved with asphalt, but local and smaller roads are gravel. Roads do not have traffic signals, but use stop signs to control intersections.
  Residents and businesses identify their locations mostly by building number, and occasionally by the name of a prominent structure. Residents know where in the city certain series of building numbers are located; numbers tend to be aggregated in blocks, so someone might say that they live in the 2600s. Around 2003, street names were developed, although there were delays in finalizing them and posting the signs. Street numbers have not been assigned, and building numbers continue to be used. Iqaluit is the only Canadian capital city not to have traffic signals, although some have been inst
caption: Iqaluit Airport hosts a number of scheduled flights to Ottawa, Montreal, Rankin Inlet, Kuujjuaq, and smaller communities throughout Nunavut.
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