Tuktoyaktuk, or Tuktuyaaqtuuq, is an Inuvialuit hamlet nestled near the Mackenzie River delta in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. This unique community, often referred to as "Tuk," is the only place on the Arctic Ocean connected to the rest of Canada by road.
The name Tuktoyaktuk is an anglicized form of the native Inuvialuit place-name, meaning "resembling a caribou". According to local legend, a woman watched as caribou waded into the water and turned into stone, or became petrified. Today, reefs resembling these petrified caribou are said to be visible at low tide along the town's shore.
Tuktoyaktuk has been used by the native Inuvialuit for centuries as a place to harvest caribou and beluga whales. Its natural harbour was historically used to transport supplies to other Inuvialuit settlements. Between 1890 and 1910, flu epidemics brought in by American whalers devastated the local population. In subsequent years, the Dene people and residents of Herschel Island settled here.
In 1937, the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post in Tuktoyaktuk. The community became a base for oil and natural gas exploration of the Beaufort Sea in the 1970s. Today, Tuktoyaktuk is a vibrant community with a rich history and a promising future.
Tuktoyaktuk is set on Kugmallit Bay, near the Mackenzie River Delta, and is located on the Arctic tree line. It is the gateway for exploring Pingo National Landmark, an area protecting eight nearby pingos in a region which contains approximately 1,350 of these Arctic ice-dome hills. The landmark comprises an area roughly 16 km2, just a few kilometres west of the community, and includes Canada's highest, the world's second-highest, pingo, at 49 m.
Many locals still hunt, fish, and trap. Locals rely on caribou in the autumn, ducks and geese in both spring and autumn, and fishing year-round. Other activities include collecting driftwood, berrypicking, and reindeer herding. Most productivity today comes from tourism and transportation. Marine Transportation Services (MTS) is a major employer in this region. In addition, the oil and gas industry continues to employ explorers and other workers.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Tuktoyaktuk had a population of 937 living in 285 of its 334 total private dwellings, a change of 4.3% from its 2016 population of 898. With a land area of 12.66 km2, it had a population density of 74.0/km2 in 2021. The average annual personal income in 2015 was $21,984 Canadian and the average family income was $55,424. Local languages are Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and English with a few North Slavey and Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib) speakers. Tuktoyaktuk is predominately Indigenous (90.8%) with Inuit (Inuvialuit) making up 88.0%, 9.2% non-Aboriginal, 1.7% First Nations and 1.1% giving multiple Indigenous backgrounds.
Tuktoyaktuk displays a subarctic climate, bordering on a tundra climate, as the July mean temperature is barely above 10 °C. Since the Arctic Ocean freezes over for much of the year, the maritime influence is minimized, resulting in cold winters and a strong seasonal lag in spring. This results in colder Aprils than Octobers and much colder Mays than Septembers. March is also colder than December, and is the only month yet to not record a temperature above freezing at any point.
Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport links Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. This 30-minute flight costs a few hundred dollars per passenger. The $300-million Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway opened in November 2017, which provides all-season access to Inuvik, which connects to the rest of the highway networks in Canada.
Tuktoyaktuk has been featured in various TV shows, songs, and even a documentary. It was the subject of the song "Time Before Bones", Dana Sipos's winning song from CBC Radio 2's 2009 Great Canadian Song Quest competition. It was also featured in the Discovery Channel TV show Ice Road Truckers.
