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Proactive disclosure Print version   | |  Nunavut
On 1 April 1999, Nunavut became Canada's newest territory. Covering about 1.9 million square kilometres of land and water, and spanning three time zones, Nunavut is home to about 22, 000 people. The name means "our land" in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit, who make up 85% of the population of Nunavut. Nunavut's capital is Iqaluit, at the head of Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island. The name Iqaluit means "place of many fish" in Inuktitut. The Canadian Geographical Names Data Base has been updated to reflect the change, and the GeoNames query tool now allows queries for names in Nunavut. As of April 1999, there were approximately 7,940 Nunavut names (official and historic) in the CGNDB. Postal Code and Abbreviation The official name of the new territory is Nunavut in English and in French; the terms "territory and territoire" are used only to describe the type of administrative division, and are not part of the name. Many people have asked us about the abbreviation for Nunavut and about the two-letter postal code for Nunavut. There is not - yet - an abbreviation for Nunavut that we are aware of. We believe that an abbreviation will be created over time, perhaps by the government and/or the people of Nunavut. We will add it to our list as soon as we know about it. As of December 18, 2000, the two-letter postal code for Nunavut is NU. GNBC membership As of April 1, 1999, Nunavut is automatically a member of the Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC). See our list of GNBC members for the name of the member responsible for geographical names and related issues in the new territory. Links
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