How many Canadians actually live up north? Approximately , To put it another way, about as many Canadians live in Australia as live in Nunavut. If the entire population of the Northwest Territories decided to attend an Edmonton Eskimos game, Commonwealth Stadium would still have 10, empty seats. This should be no surprise. It is cheaper and easier and usually faster to travel almost anywhere overseas than it is to visit the Canadian Arctic.
Seventy-four years after the completion of the U. Our only northern port, in Churchill, closed last month. Which leaves flying. But flights are few, and ridiculously expensive. Want to travel from Toronto to Iqaluit next week? The sheer difficulty of getting there helps partially explain why the Canadian North is so completely undeveloped. Unlike Russia, Greenland, Iceland and all other northern regions, there is no fishing industry no ports for trawlers, no transportation to markets.
The same lack of infrastructure means there is no resource processing like you find elsewhere in the circumpolar world. There has been a great deal of talk down south about the mineral wealth of the Arctic. But without a means to transport ore to markets, those fabled deposits are literally worthless. Bay Street agrees. Unfortunately, the Conference Board predicts that even the small amount of northern mining that exists will begin to decline by Some towns have a thriving tourism industry for mostly international tourists Canadians go to Florida.
And thank goodness, because the recent Arctic Human Development Report found a third of Aboriginal Canadians sell arts and crafts to supplement their income. Soapstone souvenirs are actually an important industry. This lack of development has created serious social problems.
The unemployment rate in Nunavut is twice the national average; the violent crime rate in the Yukon is four times; the homicide rate in Nunavut is nine times. The incarceration rate in the Northwest Territories is 10 times higher than in Ontario.
The lack of health infrastructure makes it all worse. It is three times the Canadian average. Suicide rates among Inuit are four times higher than Alaskan natives and 11 times higher than southern Canadians. Life expectancy in the Yukon actually declined between and Canada has also left its north largely undefended. The Canadian Coast Guard has only eight icebreakers capable of operating in the Arctic, but only in the summer and fall and not in thick ice.
For most of the year, marine traffic is monitored from Prescott, Ont. Usually, whenever anyone points out the total absence of Canadian Forces in the Arctic, someone mentions the Canadian Rangers. This volunteer militia is made up mostly of Indigenous Canadians living in the North. This week they were promised, again, that these would all be replaced by Rangers must supply their own snowmobiles and radios. The island was inhabited sporadically for more than years, first by the Pre-Dorset, then by the Thule and Copper Inuit.
There is evidence of their occupation along the southwestern and southeastern coasts and along the Thomsen River. Today, except for an air base at Sachs Harbour , Banks Island is uninhabited except for trappers. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below.
Accessed 12 November In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published November 30, ; Last Edited March 04, The Canadian Encyclopedia , s. Thank you for your submission Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions.
Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Article by James H. Banks Island, 70 km2, fifth-largest island in Canada, is the westernmost island of the Arctic Archipelago.
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