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Baker Lake, Nunavut

Coordinates: 64°19′10″N 096°01′15″W / 64.31944°N 96.02083°W / 64.31944; -96.02083[1]
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Baker Lake
  • ᖃᒪᓂᑦᑐᐊᖅ
  • Qamani'tuaq
Hamlet
Baker Lake, 1995
Baker Lake, 1995
Official logo of Baker Lake
Baker Lake is located in Nunavut
Baker Lake
Baker Lake
Baker Lake is located in Canada
Baker Lake
Baker Lake
Coordinates: 64°19′10″N 096°01′15″W / 64.31944°N 96.02083°W / 64.31944; -96.02083[1]
CountryCanada
TerritoryNunavut
RegionKivalliq
Electoral districtBaker Lake
Government
 • TypeHamlet Council
 • MayorKevin Iksiktaaryuk
 • MLAsCraig Simailak
Area
 • Total
179.54 km2 (69.32 sq mi)
 • Urban1.56 km2 (0.60 sq mi)
Elevation18 m (59 ft)
Population
 (2021)[4]
 • Total
2,061
 • Density11.5/km2 (30/sq mi)
 • Urban1,653
 • Urban density1,060.0/km2 (2,745/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC– 06:00 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC– 05:00 (CDT)
Canadian Postal code
Area code867
Websitebakerlake.ca/en/home/ Edit this at Wikidata

Baker Lake (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᒪᓂᑦᑐᐊᖅ 'big lake joined by a river at both ends', Inuktitut: Qamani'tuaq 'where the river widens') is a hamlet in the Kivalliq Region, in Nunavut on mainland Canada. Located on the shore of the namesake Baker Lake, it is notable for being Nunavut's sole inland community. The community was given its English name in 1761 from Captain William Christopher who named it after Sir William Baker, the 11th Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.[7][8][9]

History

[edit]

The area was the traditional summer hunting and fishing grounds for the Inuit. In 1762, the lake was explored by Captain Christopher of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who sailed up Chesterfield Inlet.[9]

Revillon Freres trading post, 1929

In 1916, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established a trading post at Baker Lake, originally set up on Baker Island at the mouth of the Kazan River. It operated as an outpost of Chesterfield Inlet until it became a full post 2 years later. In 1925, the Revillon Frères company founded a competing trading post at the mouth of the Thelon River, prompting the HBC to move its post to the mouth of this river as well.[10]

Anglican missionaries followed in 1927. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been in the area for fifteen years before establishing a post at Baker Lake in 1930. In 1936, Revillon Frères folded, and the HBC took over its buildings.[10]

In 1946 the population was 32, of which 25 were Inuit.[7] A small hospital was built in 1957, followed by a regional school the next year.[citation needed] During the 1950s, caribou were scarce and starvation threatened, prompting the government to relocate the Inuit from their inland camps to Baker Lake. By the mid-1960s, most of the nomadic Inuit from the Baker Lake, Kazan, Thelon, and Back River areas had settled in the community.[9]

In 1959, the HBC post became part of its Northern Stores Department. HBC divested this department in 1987 to The North West Company, which still operates a Northern Store at Baker Lake.[10][11]

In 1979 the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Association and the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITK) took the Canadian federal government to court for giving exploration licences to mining companies in areas where the Inuit hunt caribou. Judge Mahoney of the Federal Court of Canada, in Hamlet of Baker Lake v. Minister of Indian Affairs, recognized the existence of Aboriginal Title in Nunavut.[12]: 653 The plaintiffs were concerned that "government-licensed exploration companies were interfering with their aboriginal rights, specifically, their right to hunt caribou."[12]: 653 

Videos of elders sharing oral histories have been collected by Inuit students as part of the Nunavut Teacher Education Program.[13]

Geography

[edit]

Located 320 km (200 mi) inland from Hudson Bay, it is near the nation's geographical centre. The hamlet is located at the mouth of the Thelon River on the shore of Baker Lake.

Climate

[edit]
Baker Lake in autumn 2009

Baker Lake features a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc), bordering closely on a tundra climate, with short, cool summers and long, extremely cold winters. Winters run from October/November until April/May with temperatures averaging between −21 and −25 °C (−6 and −13 °F).[14] In contrast to Fairbanks, Alaska on a similar parallel, May is a subfreezing month and June is chilly considering the long hours of daylight.

Summers are usually cool, short and rainy; but can be hot and sometimes humid; with a record high of 33.6 °C (92.5 °F). Under the Nordenskjöld formula for distinguishing polar from non-polar climates, however, Baker Lake's climate is polar (Köppen ET) because with a coldest-month mean of −31.3 °C (−24.3 °F), the warmest-month mean would need be above 12.1 °C (53.8 °F) to keep Baker Lake out of the polar category, while Baker Lake's warmest-month mean is only 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) — the lack of trees at Baker Lake vindicates this judgement.[15]

Climate data for Baker Lake (Baker Lake Airport)
WMO ID: 71926; coordinates 64°17′56″N 96°04′40″W / 64.29889°N 96.07778°W / 64.29889; -96.07778 (Baker Lake Airport); elevation: 18.6 m (61 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1946–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex −2.0 −2.7 1.2 4.1 15.2 33.1 37.8 33.4 26.1 13.5 1.7 1.0 37.8
Record high °C (°F) −1.7
(28.9)
−2.6
(27.3)
1.5
(34.7)
5.0
(41.0)
16.2
(61.2)
30.9
(87.6)
33.6
(92.5)
30.9
(87.6)
24.2
(75.6)
13.5
(56.3)
2.2
(36.0)
1.1
(34.0)
33.6
(92.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −27.0
(−16.6)
−27.1
(−16.8)
−21.8
(−7.2)
−12.5
(9.5)
−2.6
(27.3)
10.0
(50.0)
17.5
(63.5)
15.0
(59.0)
6.8
(44.2)
−3.1
(26.4)
−14.6
(5.7)
−22.2
(−8.0)
−6.8
(19.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −30.5
(−22.9)
−30.7
(−23.3)
−26.1
(−15.0)
−17.0
(1.4)
−6.0
(21.2)
5.5
(41.9)
12.1
(53.8)
10.4
(50.7)
3.4
(38.1)
−6.1
(21.0)
−18.4
(−1.1)
−25.9
(−14.6)
−10.8
(12.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −34.0
(−29.2)
−34.2
(−29.6)
−30.3
(−22.5)
−21.5
(−6.7)
−9.4
(15.1)
1.0
(33.8)
6.7
(44.1)
5.9
(42.6)
0.1
(32.2)
−9.0
(15.8)
−22.1
(−7.8)
−29.5
(−21.1)
−14.7
(5.5)
Record low °C (°F) −50.6
(−59.1)
−50.0
(−58.0)
−50.0
(−58.0)
−41.1
(−42.0)
−27.8
(−18.0)
−13.9
(7.0)
−1.7
(28.9)
−3.4
(25.9)
−14.4
(6.1)
−30.6
(−23.1)
−42.7
(−44.9)
−45.6
(−50.1)
−50.6
(−59.1)
Record low wind chill −71.5 −70.5 −66.1 −58.5 −42.3 −23.5 −5.8 −10.2 −23.0 −46.9 −59.2 −64.0 −71.5
Average precipitation mm (inches) 7.3
(0.29)
6.0
(0.24)
10.8
(0.43)
12.5
(0.49)
16.0
(0.63)
21.5
(0.85)
35.8
(1.41)
48.5
(1.91)
47.0
(1.85)
25.1
(0.99)
15.6
(0.61)
11.7
(0.46)
257.9
(10.15)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.00)
3.9
(0.15)
18.7
(0.74)
37.3
(1.47)
47.6
(1.87)
39.3
(1.55)
5.2
(0.20)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.00)
152.3
(6.00)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 6.8
(2.7)
7.8
(3.1)
10.8
(4.3)
14.0
(5.5)
12.7
(5.0)
1.8
(0.7)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
7.1
(2.8)
21.4
(8.4)
18.9
(7.4)
12.0
(4.7)
113.3
(44.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 7.4 5.8 8.2 6.6 7.2 8.0 8.6 11.6 11.5 12.8 10.3 9.1 107.1
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.14 2.0 7.0 9.0 10.7 9.5 2.3 0.0 0.06 40.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 5.6 5.5 6.8 7.0 5.9 1.3 0.0 0.04 3.2 10.8 10.3 7.4 63.9
Average relative humidity (%) (at 1500 LST) 66.7 65.5 68.8 76.2 80.6 65.5 57.1 63.5 72.4 83.6 76.1 69.7 70.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 35.8 107.1 189.6 234.5 264.3 262.4 301.1 210.6 107.4 72.3 51 7.1 1,843.2
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada[14] (sunshine 1951–1980)[16]


Wildlife

[edit]

Baker Lake is host to a variety of wildlife including caribou, muskox, Arctic hares, wolves, wolverines, sik-siks, geese, and lake trout among others.[citation needed]

Demographics

[edit]

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Baker Lake had a population of 2,061 living in 577 of its 661 total private dwellings, a change of -0.4% from its 2016 population of 2,069. With a land area of 179.54 km2 (69.32 sq mi), it had a population density of 11.5/km2 (29.7/sq mi) in 2021.[4]

Federal census population history of Baker Lake
YearPop.±%
1976863—    
1981954+10.5%
19861,009+5.8%
19911,186+17.5%
19961,385+16.8%
YearPop.±%
20011,507+8.8%
20061,728+14.7%
20111,872+8.3%
20162,069+10.5%
20212,061−0.4%
Source: Statistics Canada[4][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Baker Lake is home to eleven Inuit groups:

Panethnic groups in the Hamlet of Baker Lake (2001–2021)
Panethnic group 2021[4] 2016[25] 2011[26] 2006[27] 2001[28]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Indigenous 1,920 93.43% 1,900 92.68% 1,745 93.57% 1,565 90.99% 1,420 94.35%
European[a] 105 5.11% 135 6.59% 115 6.17% 135 7.85% 85 5.65%
African 20 0.97% 20 0.98% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
East Asian[b] 10 0.49% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Southeast Asian[c] 0 0% 10 0.49% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Middle Eastern[d] 0 0% 10 0.49% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
South Asian 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 20 1.16% 0 0%
Latin American 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Other/multiracial[e] 10 0.49% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Total responses 2,055 99.71% 2,050 99.08% 1,865 99.63% 1,720 99.54% 1,505 99.87%
Total population 2,061 100% 2,069 100% 1,872 100% 1,728 100% 1,507 100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Economy

[edit]

Many of the town's residents work in the Meadowbank gold mine for Agnico Eagle Mines Limited.[29] Much of the local infrastructure and logistics-related employment is based around aiding mineral exploration and mining efforts in the wider area. The main source of employment and growth in this sector is Canadian-based mining company Agnico Eagle Mines, which in 2010 began work at its Meadowbank mine site 110 km (68 mi) north of Baker Lake by road.[30][31] The construction of the mine employed over 1,000 workers, over 30% of whom were locals from the general area of the Kivalliq Region. Along with employing local people, the company helped build cellphone towers to get the community connected to Northwestel's cellphone service. The coming of workers from all across Canada also helped developing tourism in this community. There is also potential for a uranium mine, called the Kiggavik Project, approximately 80 km to the west, which is being proposed by Orano Canada.[32]

Arts and culture

[edit]

Baker Lake is known for its Inuit art, such as wall hangings, basalt stone sculptures and stone cut prints. The community has been home to internationally exhibited artists such as Matthew Agigaaq, Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq, Luke Anguhadluq, Barnabus Arnasungaaq, David Ikutaq, Toona Iquliq, Janet Nungnik, Jessie Oonark, Ruth Qaulluaryuk, Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq, Simon Tookoome, Marion Tuu'luq, and Marie Kuunnuaq.[33][34]

The Jessie Oonark Arts and Crafts Centre, which opened in 1992, is a work area for the community's artists. It provides space for carving, print making, sewing and jewellery making. It is also home to Jessie Oonark Crafts Ltd. a subsidiary of the Nunavut Development Corporation, a Government of Nunavut crown corporation.[35][36]

Infrastructure

[edit]

Transportation

[edit]
Baker Lake airport

The settlement is served by Baker Lake Airport, linking it to the nearby coastal town of Rankin Inlet, about 35 minutes away by air. Calm Air serves the town with at least two flights daily. Every day there are connecting flights to Winnipeg.

While the local road network does not connect to another community, there is an approximately 110 km (68 mi) all-weather gravel highway named Mine Road.[37] It runs north, from the town to the Meadowbank Gold Mine and aerodrome. It was completed around 2019 and is among the longest highways in Nunavut.[38][39] An 8 km (5.0 mi) road runs east from the townsite to the Geographic Centre of Canada monument.[40]

Broadband communications

[edit]

The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by SSi Canada. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

Services

[edit]

Baker Lake has a women's shelter, health centre (Baker Lake Health Centre), dental clinic, heritage centre, visitor's centre, counselling centre, elders' centre, three hotels (Baker Lake Lodge, Iglu Hotel and Nunamiut Lodge), swimming pool, library, primary and secondary school (Rachel Arngnammaktiq Elementary School and Jonah Amitnaaq Secondary School), and youth centre.

There are three churches in the community, Anglican (St. Aidan's), Catholic (St. Paul's) and Glad Tidings.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  3. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  4. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Baker Lake". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ "Municipal Election Results 2019–2020" (PDF). Elections Nunavut. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  3. ^ "2021 General Election" (PDF). Elections Nunavut. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Baker Lake, Nunavut (Code 6205023) Census Profile". 2021 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Baker Lake, Nunavut [Population centre] Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  6. ^ Elevation at airport. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Sandy Lunan, Hudson's Bay Co. Factor, baking his own bread, Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, 1946". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  8. ^ "Hbc Heritage – Heritage Home". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "History of Baker Lake". www.bakerlake.ca. Hamlet of Baker Lake. 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "Hudson's Bay Company: Baker Lake". pam.minisisinc.com. Archives of Manitoba - Keystone Archives Descriptive Database. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Northern/NorthMart Locator". www.northmart.ca. North West Company. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  12. ^ a b Elliott, D. W. (1980). "Baker Lake and the Concept of Aboriginal Title". Osgoode Hall Law Journal. 18 (4). York University: 653–663. doi:10.60082/2817-5069.2034. S2CID 55184784.
  13. ^ "NTEP-Baker-Lake – home". Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  15. ^ Nordenskjöld, Otto; Mecking, Ludwig; Antevs, Ernst; Hale, Marion (1928). "Chapter VI: The Delimitation of the Polar Regions, and the Natural Provinces of the Arctic and Antarctic". In Joerg, W. L. G. (ed.). The Geography of the Polar Regions, Consisting of A General Characterization of Polar Nature. Special Publication. Vol. 8. New York City: American Geographical Society. pp. 72–3. Bib_id 28009518. Retrieved 30 November 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1951-1980 Volume 7 Bright Sunshine" (PDF). Environment and Climate Change Canada. 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  17. ^ "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order" (PDF). Statistics Canada. May 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  18. ^ "1986 Census: Population – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions" (PDF). Statistics Canada. September 1987. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  19. ^ "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions – Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  20. ^ "96 Census: A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1997. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data (Nunavut)". Statistics Canada. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data (Nunavut)". Statistics Canada. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Nunavut)". Statistics Canada. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Nunavut)". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  25. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 October 2021). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  26. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 November 2015). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  27. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (20 August 2019). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  28. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2 July 2019). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  29. ^ "NunatsiaqOnline 2010-06-20: NEWS: Mine's alchemy turns Nunavut poverty into hope". 21 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  30. ^ "The first gold produced on Inuit-owned lands". Agnico Eagle. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Operations – Agnico Eagle Mines". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  32. ^ "AREVA Resources Canada – AREVA Group". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  33. ^ Artists and artwork represented at Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  34. ^ Heller, J.; Heller, N. G. (2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 9781135638825.
  35. ^ "Jessie Oonark Crafts Ltd". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  36. ^ "Nunavut Development Corporation". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  37. ^ "Baker Lake, the tiny engine helping to power Meadowbank". 27 June 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Worries mount over what busy mining road in Nunavut could mean for caribou migration". 29 August 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  39. ^ "Meadowbank Complex". Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  40. ^ "Geographical Centre of Canada". 27 March 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Baker Lake Residents' Association, and Mary McCulloch. Baker Lake, N.W.T., 1870–1970. Baker Lake, N.W.T.: Baker Lake Residents' Association, 1971.
  • Kardosh, Judy. Works on Cloth Imagery by Artists of Baker Lake, Nunavut[permanent dead link]. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 2002. ISBN 0921634366
  • Klassen, R. A. Drift composition and glacial dispersal trains, Baker Lake area, District of Keewatin, northwest territories. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1995. ISBN 0660160870
  • Krebs, Charles J. The Lemming Cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, During 1959–62. 1964.
  • Miller, A. R. Uranium Geology of the Eastern Baker Lake Basin, District of Keewatin, Northwest Territories. [Ottawa]: Energy, Mines, and Resources Canada, 1980. ISBN 0660107074
  • Renewable Resources Consulting Services. Study of the Effects of Resource Exploration and Development on Hunting and Trapping on the Traditional Economy of the Inuit in the Baker Lake Area. Edmonton: Renewable Resources Consulting Services, 1977.
[edit]