1. Nunavut Canada’s Newest Territory

2. The former Northwest Territories
The Creation of Nunavut
Canada consisted of 10 provinces and 2 territories until April 1, 1999, when the new territory of Nunavut came into being
Nunavut (meaning “Our Land” in Inuktitut) was the end result of a land claim begun in 1976
A two-million-square-km chunk of Canadian arctic was carved out of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories
Nunavut
The former Northwest Territories

3. The Creation of Nunavut
The Inuit could have argued for a homeland within the existing Northwest Territories
They worried they would be disadvantaged as a minority within a much larger non-Native population
They could have insisted on an exclusively Inuit territory
Instead decided on a new territory that would include Inuit and non-Inuit citizens and would have the same status within Canada as the other two territories

4. Nunavut Facts & Statistics
Nunavut covers one-fifth of Canada, but its population of 32,000 makes up less than 1% of the country’s population
Around 85% of Nunavut’s people are Inuit
The Nunavut Land Claim Agreement is the largest Native land claim settlement in Canadian history
The Inuit received over 350,000 square km of land, along with $1.2 billion in cash to be paid over a 15 year period
18% of the land is controlled by the Inuit, the rest is Crown land held in trust by the federal government

5. Nunavut legislative building
Nunavut’s Government
The creation of Nunavut enabled the Inuit to develop a form of government based on consensus (general agreement)
Achieving consensus, rather than voting on issues is important in Inuit culture
Members are elected to the Nunavut legislature, but no political parties are recognized
Nunavut coat of arms
Elected members choose the Premier from among themselves, and the Premier picks the cabinet
Nunavut legislative building

6. Problems and Challenges
The high school graduation rate for Inuit students hovers at around 25% and few graduates go on to college or university
The number of Inuit in government positions is around 45% and the majority of those jobs are at the lower levels of administrative support
While Inuktitut is taught at schools, it is only taught until grades 3/4 – instruction beyond that is in English
The federal government provides around $4 million a year for teaching French in Nunavut, but only $1 million for teaching Inuktitut

7. Will history repeat itself?
Nunavut might want to consider the history of Manitoba and the Métis
When the province came into Confederation in 1870, the population was overwhelmingly French-speaking Métis
Within a dozen years of intense settlement, the Métis were the minority
Subsequent provincial governments began clawing back or ignoring the guarantees contained in the Manitoba Act and the Métis spent the next hundred years in court trying to get those promises honoured