Grise Fiord
Photo: Chelsea Britton
Overview
The northernmost civilian community in Canada, Grise Fiord is home to about 144 people (2021 census) and is located in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut, sharing the Eastern time zone with Iqaluit, Montreal and Ottawa.
Getting to Grise Fiord is a considerable journey. Starting from Ottawa, the trip begins with a 3 hour 15 minute flight to Iqaluit followed by a 3 hour and 50 minute flight from Iqaluit to Resolute Bay (likely after an overnight in Iqaluit). The final leg of your flight from Resolute Bay to Grise Fiord is 1.5 hours, bringing the total flying time of the trip to over 8 hours.
Highlights
Grise Fiord means "pig inlet" in Norwegian. Around 1900, Otto Sverdrup from Norway named it during an expedition because he thought the walruses in the area sounded like pigs.
Photo: Chelsea Britton
With its remoteness, wildlife and scenery, Grise Fiord is attractive to people as a tourist destination. There’s lots to do in the community from dog sledding and wildlife observing to hiking, igloo camping, sport fishing and hunting. In the summer the sun stays up for 24 hours.
Weather and landscape
The community of Grise Fiord sits at the foot of the 600-metre Arctic Cordillera mountain range and is located 1,544 km from the North Pole, between the 76th and 77th parallels.
Grise Fiord features a tundra climate with very short, cool summers and long, cold winters, with temperatures averaging -30 through the winter and 10-14 in the summer.
Due to the potential for avalanches and falling rocks from mountains, there is no room for expansion of the community.
“In Memory of Inuit Landed Here in 1953 and 1955, and Those Who Came After”: sculpture by Looty Pijamini and Matthew Pijamini
Photo: Chelsea Britton