Tuktoyaktuk Tuktuyaaqtuuq (Inuvialuktun) Port Brabant(formerly)
Hamlet
North Warning System radar station at Tuktoyaktuk
Seal
Nickname:  Tuk
Tuktoyaktuk Show map of Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Show map of Canada
Coordinates:69°27′03″N133°02′09″W / 69.45083°N 133.03583°W /69.45083; -133.03583[1]
Country	Canada
Territory	Northwest Territories
Region	Inuvik Region
Electoral district	Nunakput
Census division	Region 1
Settled	1928
Incorporated	1 April 1970
Government
• Mayor	Erwin Elias
• Senior Administrative Officer	Holly Campbell
• MLA	Lucy Kuptana
• Member of Parliament	Michael McLeod
• Senator	Margaret Dawn Anderson
Area  (2021)[2]
• Land	12.66 km2 (4.89 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	4.6 m (15 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	937
• Density	74/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Canadian Postal code	X0E 1C0
Area code	867
Telephone exchange	977
– Living cost (2018)	162.5A
– Food price index (2019)	157.8B
Website	http://www.tuktoyaktuk.ca
Sources: Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,[4] Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,[5] Canada Flight Supplement[3] Northwestel[6] Natural Resources Canada[7] ^A 2018 figure based onEdmonton = 100[8] ^B 2019 figure based onYellowknife = 100[8]

Tuktoyaktuk (/ˌtʌktəˈjæktʌk/TUK-tə-YAK-tuk;Inuvialuktun:Tuktuyaaqtuuq[təktujaːqtuːq],lit. 'it looks like a caribou')[5] is anInuvialuit hamlet near theMackenzie River delta in theInuvik Region of theNorthwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of theInuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.^[9][10] One of six Inuvialuit communities in theInuvialuit Settlement Region, it is commonly known by its first syllable,Tuk (/tʌk/).^[11] It lies north of theArctic Circle on theArctic Ocean, and is the only place on the Arctic Ocean connected to the rest of Canada by road.^[9] Known as Port Brabant after British colonization, in 1950 it became Canada's first Indigenous settlement to reclaim its traditional name.^[12]

Tuktoyaktuk is theanglicized form of the native Inuvialuit place-name, meaning "resembling acaribou". According to legend, a woman looked on as some caribou, common at the site, waded into the water and turned into stone. Today, reefs resembling petrified caribou are said to be visible at low tide along the shore of the town.^[13]

No formalarchaeological sites exist today, the Inuvialuit have used the settlement for centuries as a place to harvest caribou andbeluga whales. Tuktoyaktuk's natural harbour was also historically used to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements.

Between 1890 and 1910, many of Tuktoyaktuk's native families were wiped out in flu epidemics brought in by Americanwhalers. In subsequent years, theDene people, as well as residents ofHerschel Island, settled here. By 1937, theHudson's Bay Company had established atrading post. On 9 September 1944, a windstorm blew through the community, severely damaged several buildings and schooners docked at the harbour, and killed 11 people en route back from a reindeer station on theAnderson River on the schoonerCally.^[14]

Radomes were installed beginning in the 1950s as part of theDistant Early Warning Line, to monitor air traffic and detect possibleSoviet intrusions during theCold War. The settlement's location (and harbour) made Tuk important in resupplying the civilian contractors and Air Force personnel along the DEW Line. In 1947, Tuktoyaktuk became the site of one of the first governmentday schools, designed to forcibly assimilateInuit youth into mainstream Canadian culture.^[15][16]

Tuktoyaktuk eventually became a base for theoil and natural gas exploration of theBeaufort Sea. Large industrial buildings remain from the busy period following theOrganization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries 1973oil embargo and1979 summertime fuel shortage. This brought many more outsiders into the region.

In late 2010, theCanadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced that it would undertake an environmental study of a proposed all-weather road betweenInuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.^[17] Work on theInuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway started on 8 January 2014, and the highway opened on 15 November 2017.^[9]

Tuktoyaktuk is onKugmallit Bay, near theMackenzie River Delta, and is on the Arctictree line.

Tuktoyaktuk is the gateway for exploringPingo Canadian Landmark, an area protecting eight nearbypingos in a region that contains about 1,350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills. The landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km² (6.2 sq mi), just a few kilometres west of the community, and includes Ibyuk Pingo, Canada's highest, and the world's second-highest, pingo, at 49 m (161 ft).^[18]

Many residents continue traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, and trapping. Huntingcaribou occurs in the autumn, ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, while fishing takes place all year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, berry picking, andreindeer herding. Most productivity today comes from tourism and transportation.Marine Transportation Services (MTS) is a major employer in the region, and the fossil fuel industry continues to employ explorers and other workers.

In 1962, the government-sponsored Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Project started; it provided vocational training in industrial sewing and commercial production of items for sale, including parkas, mitts, slippers,mukluks, hats, wall hangings, place mats and dolls produced by local women that were sold in the Tuktoyaktuk Fur Garment Shop. The shop closed in the 1980s.^[19]

In the2021 Canadian census conducted byStatistics Canada, Tuktoyaktuk had a population of 937 living in 285 of its 334 total private dwellings, a change of4.3% from its 2016 population of 898. With a land area of 12.66 km² (4.89 sq mi), it had a population density of74.0/km² (191.7/sq mi) in 2021.^[2]

The average annual personal income in 2015 was $21,984Canadian and the average family income was $55,424. Local languages areInuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English with a fewNorth Slavey andTłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) speakers. Tuktoyaktuk is predominatelyIndigenous (90.8%) withInuit (Inuvialuit) making up 88.0%, 9.2% non-Aboriginal, 1.7%First Nations and 1.1% giving multiple Indigenous backgrounds.^[20]

Tuktoyaktuk has asubarctic climate (Dfc), bordering on atundra climate (ET), as the July mean temperature is barely above 10 °C (50 °F). Since theArctic Ocean freezes over for much of the year, the maritime influence is minimized, resulting in cold winters and a strongseasonal lag in spring. This results in colder Aprils than Octobers and much colder Mays than Septembers. March is also colder than November.

Due to the dominance of cold air, Tuktoyaktuk has a lower precipitation rate than many desert climates. Still, the cold temperatures mean it receives more than a metre of snow a year on average. Owing to the thousands of kilometres of land south of Tuktoyaktuk, southerly winds can sometimes push warmer air into the region.Rex blocks can cause an exceptionally strong ridge ofhigh pressure to form at higher latitudes, allowing heat to build consistently.^[35] As a result, temperatures well above average can occur in summer despite the cold surrounding waters.

During a bout of exceptionally hot Arctic weather,^[36] Tuktoyaktuk was among the numerous northern communities that witnessed extreme temperatures, reaching a high of 29.9 °C (85.8 °F) on 4 July 2022.^[37] Its overall highest temperature of 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) was recorded on 2 July 1998.^[38] Tuktoyaktuk's climate stands in stark contrast to those ofNorthern Norway at similar latitudes, but is in many ways less extreme than that ofEastern Canada at lower latitudes, where summers are cooler, moderated by the cool waters of theHudson Bay.^{[citation needed]}

Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport links Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. TheTuktoyaktuk Winter Road formerly provided road access to Inuvik in the winter. In 2017, the $300-millionInuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway opened.^[40][9] It provides all-season access to Inuvik, which connects to the rest of the highway networks in Canada.^[41]

The airport previously had scheduled service fromInuvik operated byAklak Air. Service was cancelled in 2018 after the opening of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway created a permanent link between the communities and resulted in a drop in demand for air service.^[42]

Tuktoyaktuk panorama

An unannounced visit byPolar Research Institute of China’sXue Long to Tuktoyaktuk in 1999 has raised concerns for Canadian sovereignty and security in the Arctic region.^[43][44][45]

• In the third episode ofJesse James Is a Dead Man, originally aired on 14 June 2009 onSpike TV,Jesse James rides his motorcycle from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk to drop off medical supplies.^[46]
• On 3 September 1995, theMolson Brewing Company arranged for several popular rock bands to perform in Tuktoyaktuk as apublicity stunt promoting its new ice-brewed beer. During the months leading up to concert, radio stations across North America ran contests in which they gave away free tickets. DubbedThe Molson Ice Polar Beach Party, it featuredHole,Metallica,^[47]Moist,Cake, andVeruca Salt. The show was attended by locals and 500 contest winners, who flew in from different parts of Canada.^[48] Canadian filmmakerAlbert Nerenberg made a documentary about the concert,Invasion of the Beer People.^[49]
• Tuktoyaktuk is featured in theDiscovery Channel TV showIce Road Truckers.^[50]
• The imaginary Tuktoyaktuk University, abbreviated "TUK-U", has been "emblazoned on hundreds of thousands of T-shirts that travelled the world".^[51][52]

• List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories
• Territorial claims in the Arctic

• Onishi, Norimitsu; Philippe, Renaud (2 December 2024)."An Arctic Hamlet Is Sinking Into the Thawing Permafrost".The New York Times. Retrieved27 February 2025.

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