Hopedale Agvituk | |
|---|---|
Inuit community | |
 Hopedale | |
| Nickname: Place of the Whales | |
  Hopedale Location of Hopedale inLabrador | |
| Coordinates:55°27′39″N60°14′00″W / 55.46083°N 60.23333°W /55.46083; -60.23333[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Region | Nunatsiavut |
| Settled | 1782 |
| Incorporated | May 12, 1969 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Inuit Community Government |
| • Mayor (AngajukKâk) | Marjorie Flowers |
| • Federal MP | Philip Earle(L) |
| • Provincial MHA | Lela Evans(PC)[2] |
| • Nunatsiavut Assembly member | Terry Vincent(I)[3] |
| Area | |
| • Land | 3.35 km2 (1.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 596 |
| • Density | 157.9/km2 (409/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-04:00 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-03:00 (ADT) |
| Area code | 709 |
| Climate | Dfc |
Hopedale (Inuit language:Agvituk)[4] is a town located in the north ofLabrador, the mainland portion of theCanadian province ofNewfoundland and Labrador. Hopedale is the legislative capital of the Inuit Land Claims AreaNunatsiavut, and where theNunatsiavut Assembly meets.[5][6][7] As of the 2021 census, it has a population of 596.
Hopedale was founded as anInuit settlement namedAgvituk,Inuktitut for "place of the whales". In 1782,Moravian missionaries fromGermany arrived in the area to convert the population. They renamed the settlement Hopedale (Hoffental in German) shortly afterwards. The Hopedale Mission is still standing and is thought to be the oldest wooden-frame building inCanada standing east ofQuebec. As such, it was named aNational Historic Site of Canada.[8] It is currently run by the Agvituk Historical Society as a part of a museum on the history of missionaries in the area.
From 1953 to 1968, a jointRoyal Canadian Air Force-United States Air Force'sHopedale Air Station was located on the hills above Hopedale. Civilian personnel lived in the main part of town. Since 1968, the area has remained abandoned other than maintenance of non-military communications towers nearby.[9]
On December 1, 2005, Hopedale became the legislative capital[10] of the autonomous region ofNunatsiavut which is the name chosen by the Labrador Inuit when theLabrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act was successfully ratified by theCanadian Government and the Inuit of Labrador.[11]Nain, further north, is theadministrative capital.[12] The land claim cedes limited self-rule for the Nunatsiavut government in Northern Labrador and North-EasternQuebec, granting title and aboriginal rights.[12] The land that comprises the Nunatsiavut government is called the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area, or LISA, which amount to approximately 72,500 km2 (28,000 sq mi).[13] The Inuit of Labrador do not own this land per se, but they do have special rights related to traditional land use as aboriginals. That said, the Labrador Inuit will own 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi) within the Settlement Area, officially designated as Labrador Inuit Lands. The Agreement also provides for the establishment of theTorngat Mountains National Park Reserve, consisting of about 9,600 square kilometres (3,700 sq mi) of land within LISA.[13][14] As legislative capital, Hopedale is the location of theNunatsiavut Assembly Building.[15]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Hopedale had a population of596 living in193 of its208 total private dwellings, a change of3.8% from its 2016 population of574.[16] With a land area of 2.18 km2 (0.84 sq mi), it had a population density of273.4/km2 (708.1/sq mi) in 2021.[17]
The majority of people in Hopedale (79%) speakEnglish as a first language, but a significant minority (21%) speakInuktitut.
About 83% of the population identify themselves as Inuit, 16% are of mainly European descent, and 1% are of Punjabi origin.
About 87% of the population belongs to aProtestant denomination, about 2% areRoman Catholic, and another 1% areSikh. About 10% are not affiliated with any religion.
There are no roads that connect Hopedale with the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador.[18][19][20]
Hopedale Airport, a small public airport, connects the area with small communities inNewfoundland and Labrador and connections beyond made viaGoose Bay Airport.[21] The airport was built in the mid 1960s to provide air support to former USAF Hopedale Air Station. Since 1968 the airport is used by civilians.
The airport handles only small turboprop aircraft or helicopters. There is only one service building at the airport. The airport is connected to Hopedale via Airstrip Road.
Between mid-June and mid-November (pending ice conditions), the ferryMV Kamutik W, operated by the Newfoundland and Labrador Government, provides weekly service[22] fromGoose Bay along the Atlantic Coast, with stops inRigolet,Makkovik,Postville, Hopedale, Nain, andNatuashish.[23] Small boats are used to access nearby areas by water.
Local land based transportation in the community is made by private vehicles (cars, trucks,ATV) and snowmobile in winter. There are only a few roads in the community, all gravel:
Policing in Hopedale is provided by theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police which has a Hopedale Detachment staffed by four officers. The current detachment was completed in 1994.[24]
There is no hospital located in Hopedale and only basic medical services are provided by Hopedale Community Clinic. The clinic is operated byNewfoundland and Labrador Health Services and is staffed by three nurses/nurse practitioners. Physicians visit periodically, and are also available by video conference.[25] Advanced care requires patients to be flown out of town byair ambulance to the nearest hospital, which is inHappy Valley-Goose Bay.
Hopedale Volunteer Fire Department is a small fire and rescue service with a single pumper stored at the fire hall located next to the RCMP detachment near Water Road.
Canada Post has a post office (19 Harbour Drive B) located in town.
Amos Comenius Memorial School at Nanuk Hill, with grades Kindergarten to Grade 12,[26] is the only school in Hopedale.
AngajukKâk are equivalent of mayor in Hopedale and are elected every four years.
There are few local attractions:[27]
Hopedale has asubarctic climate (Köppen:Dfc) with an August average of 12.3 °C (54.1 °F) and February average of −16.4 °C (2.5 °F). It features short, mild summers, and long, very cold, and very snowy winters. It also has a longseasonal lag, with February and August being its coldest and warmest month, respectively.
| Climate data for Hopedale (AUT) Coordinates55°27′N60°13′W / 55.450°N 60.217°W /55.450; -60.217 (Hopedale); elevation: 10 m (33 ft); 1991–2020, extremes 1942–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 4.5 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 13.5 | 25.0 | 31.2 | 34.0 | 33.4 | 30.1 | 20.4 | 14.6 | 6.4 | 34.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) | 7.2 (45.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 28.3 (82.9) | 31.1 (88.0) | 33.3 (91.9) | 30.7 (87.3) | 27.2 (81.0) | 20.6 (69.1) | 13.5 (56.3) | 8.9 (48.0) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −12.2 (10.0) | −12.4 (9.7) | −6.9 (19.6) | −0.3 (31.5) | 4.9 (40.8) | 10.1 (50.2) | 15.3 (59.5) | 16.0 (60.8) | 12.0 (53.6) | 5.6 (42.1) | −0.5 (31.1) | −6.6 (20.1) | 2.1 (35.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −15.8 (3.6) | −16.4 (2.5) | −11.1 (12.0) | −4.1 (24.6) | 1.7 (35.1) | 6.6 (43.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 8.5 (47.3) | 3.3 (37.9) | −2.9 (26.8) | −9.6 (14.7) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −20.4 (−4.7) | −15.3 (4.5) | −7.8 (18.0) | −1.5 (29.3) | 3.1 (37.6) | 7.7 (45.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 1.0 (33.8) | −5.3 (22.5) | −12.5 (9.5) | −4.7 (23.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −40.0 (−40.0) | −40.0 (−40.0) | −35.0 (−31.0) | −28.2 (−18.8) | −17.2 (1.0) | −5.6 (21.9) | −1.1 (30.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | −5.0 (23.0) | −12.2 (10.0) | −20.6 (−5.1) | −30.0 (−22.0) | −40.0 (−40.0) |
| Record lowwind chill | −52.5 | −51.8 | −50.8 | −38.6 | −18.8 | −9.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | −7.3 | −16.6 | −29.3 | −45.6 | −52.5 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 75.1 (2.96) | 77.7 (3.06) | 79.1 (3.11) | 56.3 (2.22) | 50.7 (2.00) | 65.2 (2.57) | 86.0 (3.39) | 70.2 (2.76) | 57.9 (2.28) | 68.3 (2.69) | 64.8 (2.55) | 70.6 (2.78) | 822.0 (32.36) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3.5 (0.14) | 3.2 (0.13) | 3.4 (0.13) | 8.3 (0.33) | 24.2 (0.95) | 58.3 (2.30) | 85.4 (3.36) | 70.2 (2.76) | 55.5 (2.19) | 48.2 (1.90) | 13.7 (0.54) | 4.3 (0.17) | 378.1 (14.89) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 72.4 (28.5) | 75.2 (29.6) | 76.5 (30.1) | 48.3 (19.0) | 25.2 (9.9) | 6.6 (2.6) | 0.6 (0.2) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.4 (0.9) | 20.2 (8.0) | 51.2 (20.2) | 67.2 (26.5) | 445.8 (175.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 16 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 175 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 1.0 | trace | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 86 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 16 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 2 | trace | 0 | trace | 8 | 13 | 16 | 105 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 3pm) | 78 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 78 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 79 | 77 |
| Source:Environment Canada[28] (rain/rain days, snow/snow days, precipitation/precipitation days and humidity 1961–1990)[29] | |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
