Home · On This Day · April 1, 1999
Happy Nunavut Day
Broadcast Date: April 1, 1999
The northern lights appeared in Nunavut skies last night, just in time for the birth of the new Canadian territory. Their illumination of Koojesse Bay provided just enough light for snowmobilers travelling to the celebrations of April 1, 1999. Mushers with their wailing huskies watched the spectacle from the bay. Commissioner Helen Maksagak took her oath and Nunavut swore in its first members of the legislature. CBC Radio's This Morning reports from the festivities in Iqaluit.Happy Nunavut Day
• The celebrations in this clip took place in Nunavut's capital city Iqaluit, which means "place of many fish." Iqaluit is also the largest community and Nunavut's hub, with direct flights from Ottawa and Edmonton.• In 1995, plebiscite voters selected Iqaluit over Rankin Inlet as the capital.
• People in Nunavut called April 1 Nunavut Day, but since that date had no real significance, they later decided to change it to July 9, the day the land claim agreement and the Nunavut Act received royal assent.
Happy Nunavut Day
Medium: Radio
Program: This Morning
Broadcast Date: April 1, 1999
Host: Avril Benoît
Duration: 3:02
Last updated:
March 31, 2009
Happy Nunavut Day.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 31, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 16, 2012.]