Judo Nunavut is sending a team of 16 athletes and two coaches south on Wednesday to compete in the Edmonton International Tournament.

The annual Judo Canada-sanctioned event, which features 900 athletes from across Canada, takes place at the West Edmonton Mall Ice Palace, March 7 to March 9.

The Iqaluit athletes include seven girls and nine boys ranging in age from 10 to 17, all of whom have trained as part of an elite-level 90-minute practice regimen every Saturday for the past year in preparation for the event, in addition to their regular twice-weekly practice sessions.

The eldest athlete, Julian Gissing, 17, is competing in the under-21 category.

“For the last three years we’ve been slowly rebuilding our competitive team thanks to our really dedicated coaches,” said Matilda Pinksen, Judo Nunavut president.

One of the coaches, Peter Melanson, coached a young Pinksen while she was growing up with judo in Iqaluit.

“It’s really awesome to see him still be involved in judo after so many years,” Pinksen said.

Head coach Michael Smook and chaperones Pinksen and Pauline Melanson are also part of the trip.

Four Nunavut communities could get high-speed fibre optic internet in about six years, says Community and Government Services Minister David Joanasie.

Once completed, the project would connect Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Kinngait and Coral Harbour to Nunavik’s Tamaani Internet network via an underwater cable near Salluit.

“It’s going to take a couple of years to link up all the communities,” Joanasie said in an interview Monday.

“Our current timeline to get everything done, according to our statement of work, we’re looking at up until 2031 to have it completed by.”

The CRTC announced last year it conditionally approved $271.9 million for the project.

One condition was that Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which is responsible for ensuring obligations made to Nunavut Inuit under the Nunavut Agreement are upheld, must express its support as the Indigenous rights-holding organization in the region. In the commission’s Feb. 27 decision, it said it received a letter of support from NTI on Jan. 31.

In the letter, president Jeremy Tunraluk said NTI “fully supports” the project. He said it wants to work with the GN to ensure Inuit are full partners in its development and governance and are helped by its economic benefits.

Now that the Nunavut government has the backing of the CRTC, the next steps include starting the permitting process and issuing a tender for a proponent to take on the project, Joanasie said.

While the network would include four Nunavut communities, he said it will connect to more than “80 anchor institutions” such as schools, libraries, health centres and community learning centres.

As well, with Iqaluit being Nunavut’s most populous community, a fibre network would offset the city’s reliance on satellite internet and free up satellite service bandwidth for the other communities.

“I thank my MLA colleagues for having supported us advancing this project to date and we’ll keep them updated as things progress,” Joanasie said.

A hands-on land-based skills program in Yellowknife taught community members about ice fishing, trapping and skinning. Take a look.

An arm's-length NWT agency that promotes renewables and energy efficiency was hit by a federal funding lapse. Ministers say the GNWT has no spare cash to help.

A new program will deliver free high-efficiency wood stoves across the Dehcho. It's also designed to help people clean and maintain stoves and chimneys.

Dozens of northerners have received a medal that rewards people who make a "significant contribution" to their part of Canada. Here's an NWT recipient list.

Yvonne Careen, superintendent of the NWT’s Commission scolaire francophone, said she will step down from the role at the end of the year.

MLAs agreed to reappoint Stephen Dunbar as the NWT's chief electoral officer for four more years. He ran the territory's wildfire-delayed 2023 election.

The Green Party's Gabrielle Dupont is running to be the territory's next MP.

A team of visiting veterinarians want to know how many dogs live in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., to help them provide better service to the community.

The N.W.T. health minister says a "code silver" policy for Yellowknife's Stanton Territorial Hospital is being reviewed by occupational health and safety.

More than 50 people packed into the Holy Family Elementary School library for the meeting on Monday, which was part of the council’s regular meeting schedule but the first since principal Maria Gray announced last week that she was stepping down. 

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Nunavut government are joining forces in calling for the federal government to commit to supporting priority “nation-building” projects in the territory.

Premier P.J. Akeeagok and NTI president Jeremy Tunraluk announced Tuesday they are forming a “working group to develop a made-in-Nunavut Arctic sovereignty and security strategy.”

“We know what’s at stake for the Canadian Arctic and Inuit Nunangat, and we know that Nunavut needs to be united and strategic to respond to the challenges before us,” Akeeagok said in a news release issued jointly by NTI and the government.

The two leaders pointed to four major proposed “nation-building” projects they want the federal government to contribute to:

• The Qikiqtarjuaq port: a deepsea facility in the eastern part of the Northwest Passage;
• West Kitikmeot Resources Corp.’s Arctic security corridor/Grays Bay Road and port project: a deepsea port and 230-kilometre all-season road that would link western Nunavut to the rest of Canada;
• Nukik Corp.’s Kivalliq hydro-fibre link: a 1,200-kilometre line that would bring hydroelectricity and high-speed internet from northern Manitoba to five Nunavut communities; and,
• Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corp.’s Iqaluit hydroelectric project: a dam and generator that would bring hydroelectricity from the Kuugaluk River to Nunavut’s capital city.

“Together, we are calling on the Government of Canada to back Inuit-led nation-building initiatives that can be expedited as they have the backing of regional Inuit associations and local communities,” Akeeagok said.

Brendan Bell, CEO of West Kitikmeot Resources Corp., said all four projects would have a significant role in strengthening Arctic sovereignty and are worthy of investment.

“The significance of having both the GN, premier and the newly minted president of NTI come out collaboratively and identify these priorities, I think, is huge,” Bell said in an interview, calling it the “definition of northern leadership.”

He estimated the Grays Bay Road and port project would come with a billion-dollar price tag.

Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin, CEO of Nukik Corp., offered a similar sentiment.  Nunavut’s lack of connectivity, particularly with the internet and energy, presents a “weakness,” she said.

“We live in very precarious times,” Audouin said in an interview, pointing to the shifting Canada-U.S. relationship, as well as rising concerns over Canada’s Arctic security.

“It has changed the dynamic and definitely turned the tables on how we do business, how we look at our North and our borders, and so it’s a very timely discussion,” she said.

The Kivalliq hydro-fibre link could cost up to $3 billion, Audouin said.

Tuesday’s release by the GN and NTI came on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports took effect. In retaliation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. imports into Canada immediately with another $125 billion worth of goods to be subject to tariffs three weeks from now.

Akeeagok, who also announced the GN’s retaliation plan and met with his fellow premiers Tuesday, said the day’s news put a focus on the needs to build in the Arctic.

“There’s strong alignment between Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. as well as the Government of Nunavut to really put forward a case — for not only Canada but the world — that we’re ready to see these projects advance,” he told reporters.

Grocery prices in Iqaluit were relatively unchanged Tuesday — the first day of tariffs on American goods that the Canadian government imposed to retaliate against the 25 per cent tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump put on Canadian goods coming into his country.

A 1.36-litre carton of orange juice was $12.79 on Tuesday, unchanged from its price on Jan. 31 when Trump started getting specific about tariffs and when they would take effect.

A box of cereal was $11.99 on Tuesday, the same as it was about four weeks ago. And the cost of 100 diapers on Tuesday was $36.49, a slight decrease from its Jan. 31 price of $36.99.

Canadians spent Tuesday trying to decipher the possible impact of the 25 per cent tariffs Trump imposed at midnight on imports into his country, and of retaliatory tariffs the Canadian government put on American goods coming into this country.

The possible impact of tariffs in Nunavut may be different than what could be expected in the south, said Duane Wilson, vice-president of stakeholder relations at Arctic Co-operatives Ltd.

The price of goods such as produce, which have a short shelf life and quick turnover, could go up “almost immediately,” he said.

He noted wholesalers will find less-expensive alternatives from other markets so prices may also swing downward after an initial rapid increase.

For instance, instead of buying oranges from California, wholesalers might source them from Mexico in order to avoid the Canadian tariff on American imports. But that will take time, Wilson said.

For dry goods and many products that arrive during the summer sealift, it may take a few months for tariff-related price increases to appear because northern retailers stock up on many products for an entire year, Wilson said.

“That sword cuts both ways,” Wilson said. “Even if it [the tariff on Canadian goods] ends in July and the goods are shipped in June, then you’re still saddled with that higher cost situation,” even though they are no longer being actively imposed.

For months, Trump threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods coming into his country. Since February, the Canadian government has maintained a targeted list of retaliatory tariffs should Trump make good on those threats.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will impose tariffs on $155 billion worth of American imports — $30 billion immediately and another $125 billion worth three weeks from now.

– with files from Daron Letts

Even as US-Canada relations reached a new low, a joint military training operation in the Canadian Arctic sought to reinforce cooperation on defence.

The Canada-U.S. trade war will likely lead to higher prices for everything from groceries to homebuilding, says Premier P.J. Akeeagok.

“Whether it’s the cost of living for the everyday foods that people rely on, all the way to construction, whether it’s the work that we’re doing on Nunavut 3000 or any of our major capital projects we were hoping to do,” the tariffs imposed Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will be felt in Nunavut, Akeeagok told reporters.

Trump had threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods coming into his country since late last year. They finally took effect Tuesday, and immediately prompted retaliatory tariffs from the Canadian government.

Canada has imposed 25 per cent counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods immediately, which will expand to cover another $125 billion in U.S. products 21 days later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.

At a news conference in Ottawa, he called the U.S. tariffs a “dumb thing to do” and “predatory behaviour.”

“I won’t sugarcoat it, this is going to be tough,” Trudeau said.

Nunavut took its own retaliatory measures Tuesday. It’s joining other jurisdictions, such as Ontario, and is pulling American-produced alcohol from the shelves at Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission stores. Those products currently account for $600,000 to $700,000 of the inventory, Lorne Kusugak, the minister responsible for the commission, said in the legislature Tuesday.

The commission has also stopped purchasing alcohol produced in the U.S.

In February, Trump gave a one-month reprieve on tariffs after Canada and Mexico — which was hit by similar tariffs Tuesday — promised increased action on border security and a crackdown on fentanyl smuggling.

But on Monday, Trump said that there was “no room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the new tariffs.

“If the U.S. refuses to reverse course, we are prepared to go even further” than what was announced by Trudeau, said Gary Anandasangaree, Canada’s northern affairs minister, in a speech Tuesday.

The Government of Nunavut issued a statement Tuesday in response to the U.S. tariffs.

Although Nunavut does not directly export products to the U.S., the territory relies heavily on imports from the southern market so Nunavut is “vulnerable to rising costs and supply chain disruptions,” it said.

The Department of Community and Government Services is tasked with monitoring those disruption. It will work with contractors and suppliers to ensure projects remain viable.

“Everything that comes up here originates from southern Canada, which in turn has a direct connection to our neighbour to the south,” Akeeagok told reporters. Nunavut “fully supports” the federal government in its retaliation against the American tariffs, he added.

Akeeagok and Canada’s other premiers discussed relief measures for people who might be impacted by the trade war during a phone call with Trudeau on Tuesday.

“We stand united with the prime minister and with all the premiers that we must act to defend Canada,” Akeeagok said.

“During the conversation, it was very evident that we’re very united and that we will stand as a united front in terms of showcasing our supports to Canadians, and so that’s the feeling I had coming out of that call.”

Akeeagok said “it’s been incredible to see  the sense of pride of being a Canadian, the sense of pride of supporting Canada, and that Canada-first is being felt from coast to coast to coast and it’s no different here.”

With files from Jeff Pelletier and Nehaa Bimal

"It might be a difficult few years." The NWT's premier said some pain may lie ahead as he confirmed US tariff countermeasures, including one aimed at Starlink.

The long-awaited Islamic Centre in Yellowknife was expected to open this month, as Muslims in the community observe Ramadan. It's now expected to open later this year.

People in Iqaluit can expect to see more military personnel and aircraft around the airport this week, starting Tuesday.

Such operations are carried out to support North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, and Canadian Norad region missions and exercises, the Canadian Norad Region Headquarters announced in a news release Tuesday.

The operations “are required to ensure the logistical maintenance of facilities as well as maintain and enhance the expertise of personnel operating in remote and demanding environments,” the release said.

It did not indicate how many days the exercises last or how many military vehicles or personnel are taking part.

“This is our usual protocol,” Capt. Maxime Cliché, a public affairs officer with Canadian Norad Region Headquarters, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

“For operational security reasons, the Canadian Norad Region does not disclose the timing, the number of personnel, or the number and type of aircraft participating in the forward operation location activation.”

Similar exercises were carried out at the Iqaluit airport in July 2023.

The premier of Nunavut says his territory relies on imported goods and is vulnerable to the effects of a trade war with the United States. Now that it’s begun, he’s reiterating his government’s commitment to protecting the economy. 

Fort Resolution RCMP are investigating an apparent arson during which shots were also reportedly fired. The local MLA and First Nation have expressed concern.

Police said they received a call at roughly 4:30 a.m. Monday about someone firing shots near a home on Rental Road. When they arrived, they found someone had apparently attempted to set the home on fire.

The Alianait Arts Festival has announced Jaqqa Petersen and Andrew Morrison as the event’s new co-executive directors.

The move comes after Alannah Johnston stepped down after five years at the helm, according to a news release issued Tuesday by Alianait.

Petersen, a multi-instrumentalist from Greenland, has performed with artists from Greenland and Nunavut and has been part of the music scene since childhood.

Morrison, a musician from Iqaluit, is best known as frontman for the Juno-nominated band The Jerry Cans. He launched a new music project, Echoes Of… last year, collaborating with artists including Northern Haze’s James Ungalaq, Terry Uyarak and Ivaana.

“Together, we’re excited to steer the festival towards a vibrant future that honours Inuit culture and expands our community outreach,” Petersen and Morrison said in a statement.

Their goals include developing Inuit technical and festival administrative training programs, supporting festival networks across Nunavut, and working with the board to establish a long-term strategic plan.

Johnston, who became Alianait’s first Inuk executive director in July 2020, helped increase the number of Inuit and Indigenous performers in the festival’s lineup, the release said.

She also guided the festival through significant challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the cancellation of in-person events.

The festival is preparing for its 21st edition in Iqaluit in late June this year.

While the official dates have yet to be announced, applications for northern artists to perform at this year’s festival closed Jan. 15.

In a joint news release Tuesday morning, they described the effort as "made-in-Nunavut" and a response to world events that have recently put the spotlight on the Arctic.

The body of a woman was found in a Puvirnituq home Feb. 28 and Sureté du Québec, the provincial police, say they have reason to believe she was the victim of a murder.

Nunavik Police Service officers were called after the discovery, said police spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu in a French phone interview.

The victim is a woman in her thirties. Beaulieu said her injuries suggest she might have been intentionally killed.

The investigation has been transferred to the Sureté du Québec crimes against the person department, with collaboration with Nunavik police.

A suspect has been arrested, said Beaulieu, but no charges have been laid.

Nunavik Police Service deputy-Chief Jean-François Morin told Nunatsiaq News he will offer no comment, to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation by Sureté du Québec.

Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, an Iqaluit lawyer and co-executive director of the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre, has a new title.

He’s been named one of the directors for the National Council for Reconciliation, becoming a member of the newly formed council’s inaugural board.

“Canada’s strength is built on the voices, cultures, and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis,” Gary Anandasangaree, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, said Monday in the announcement.

“The National Council for Reconciliation’s first board of directors reflects this diversity and will advance real change.”

The council is tasked with driving “systemic change” and promoting “meaningful reconciliation” across all sectors of Canadian society through research, partnerships and public education, the announcement said.

It will also publish annual reports on Canada’s progress toward reconciliation.

The creation of the council is a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Call to Action 53, which included establishing a permanent, independent, non-political and Indigenous-led organization, the announcement said.

The commission’s final report with 94 calls to action was released in 2015 with an aim to address the legacy of residential schools.

The federal government announced the budget of $126.5 million for the creation and first year of operations of the council in 2019.

This board of directors will serve for 18 months, after which the council will elect its new board of directors for a four-year term.

Justin Trudeau said Canada "will not back down" as a trade war with the US began. In a televised address, he assailed Donald Trump's "very dumb" tariffs.

As daytime in the Arctic is getting longer, Nunavummiut have the chance to learn more about solar energy and how to use it in their day-to-day lives.

Over five days last week for seven hours each day, 12 to 15 people attended a Relay Education course at Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit to learn how to safely install solar panels on cabins.

It attracted a mix of participants — some with a background in trades but who had never installed solar panels, and others who had no experience in that kind of work.

“We try to remove the barriers on participation in the course, so that’s why we don’t require any prior knowledge,” said Andrew Cahill, lead instructor with Relay Education, a Toronto-based charity that provides programming about renewable energy, conservation, climate change and green careers.

After Iqaluit, Relay Education is hosting similar courses in Cambridge Bay from March 3 to 7 and Rankin Inlet from March 17 to 21. All of the courses are free of charge.

Solar panels are used to transform energy from the sun’s heat and light into electricity that can power a building.

Participants learn basic terminology and how to safely work with electricity.

“We are explaining what are voltage and current, how to calculate power, and the difference between power and energy,” Cahill said.

“Laying that groundwork of electrical terms and concepts to make sure everyone starts off on the same page.”

Next, the participants learn about solar energy and get hands-on experience in installing the panels onto a mock roof.

They practise using safety gear for working at heights. Everyone who completes the course will receive an Electric Safety Basics and Fall Protection certificate from Relay Education.

As well, they get a tool kit with items like screwdrivers and wire cutters along with safety equipment.

The price to install panels on an off-grid cabin can range from a couple of hundred dollars — strong enough to charge a cellphone, Cahill said — to several thousand dollars, depending on the expected use.

Andrew Cahill, Relay Education’s lead instructor, shows how to use safety equipment during a course at the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit last week. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

“For $5,000 to $10,000, you can get a really robust system that’s going to allow you to use a kettle or a toaster oven ­— things that require heat usually take a lot more power,” he said, adding that often government grants will cover most, if not all, of the installation costs.

Cabin owners can apply for a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to install solar or wind power systems through the territorial Department of Environment.

For buildings within municipal boundaries, homeowners can also apply for Nunavut Housing Corp.’s one-time grant covering half the cost, to a maximum of $30,000, toward a solar energy system.

Participants will also get the chance to learn more about government grants and how to apply for them as part of the course, Cahill said.

Iqaluit lawyer and activist Aaju Peter has been named a recipient of the University of Victoria’s alumni award for her contributions to Indigenous communities.

“She continues to defend Inuit rights in Canada and Greenland, raise global awareness of the challenges facing Inuit communities and fights to preserve their language and culture, especially the seal hunt,” the award profile published by the British Columbia university said.

Peter is one of the four former students to receive the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards in the Indigenous Community Alumni Award category.

She got her bachelor of laws degree in 2005 as part of the inaugural graduating class of the Akitsiraq program, a partnership between University of Victoria Law school, the Akitsiraq Law School Society and Nunavut Arctic College.

“I’m so proud to have gone to school at UVic,” Peter said in her award profile.

“Most of us had no money, especially me. They [professors] had a tough learning curve, but they did it so well. They were incredibly accommodating and understanding.”

Other recipients include artist and educator Crystal Clark, researcher and residential school survivor Verna Miller, and entrepreneur and Indigenous advocate Marcia Turner.

The award recognizes alumni who have made contributions to Indigenous communities, which have “improved outcomes for Indigenous people and contributed to truth and reconciliation,” the award profile said.

Peter is a Greenlandic Inuk who spent most of her life in Nunavut advocating for Inuit culture, language and the seal hunting rights, following the 2009 seal ban by the European Union.

She is a recipient of numerous awards including the Order of Canada in 2012, and appeared in documentaries Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos; Arctic Defenders; Angry Inuk; and Twice Colonized.

The Town of Hay River said it hoped residents would save up to a fifth on their power bills as the municipality began a 15-year franchise agreement with NTPC.

Representatives from a national charity are visiting two Beaufort Delta communities to examine the potential for establishing food banks in the region.

"My mom draws the most beautiful flowers." Lucyann Menicoche, a full-time beading artist, collaborates with her family to bring her art to life.

The Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre, which gets Yellowknife students ready for careers in the trades, is embarking on what it calls an overdue "glow up."

A sliver of a $50-million cash injection for Canadian mining announced on Monday will go toward guardian training associated with the Prairie Creek project.

"This is a fun time of year. We get that fast and flowy stuff." Cabin Radio spent some time on Tin Can Hill with Yellowknife's mountain bike club.