Qikiqtarjuaq, formerly known as Broughton Island until November 1998, is a vibrant community located on Broughton Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The island is renowned for its Arctic wildlife, including ringed seals, polar bears, bowhead whales, and narwhals. Bird watching enthusiasts will find the Qaqulluit National Wildlife Area particularly appealing. Qikiqtarjuaq serves as the northern access point for Auyuittuq National Park, with Pangnirtung being the southern access point.
Every year, Qikiqtarjuaq hosts an annual Suicide Prevention Walk, a significant event where local participants walk a total distance of 60 km across the tundra from Kivitoo, an old whaling station. The community also hosts a two-week celebration over the Christmas and New Year period, welcoming visitors to join the festivities and games.
Near Qikiqtarjuaq was the home of FOX-5, a Distant Early Warning Line and now a North Warning System site. In July 2011, Qikiqtarjuaq was featured in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Cabin Pressure.
Qikiqtarjuaq is situated above the Arctic Circle and off eastern Baffin Island. It is surrounded by the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay to the east, and the Baffin Mountains, specifically the Arctic Cordillera mountain range, to the west. It is also one of the Nunavut communities closest to Greenland.
As per the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Qikiqtarjuaq had a population of 593 living in 164 of its 193 total private dwellings, a slight decrease from its 2016 population of 598. With a land area of 130.8 km2, it had a population density of 4.5/km2 in 2021.
Qikiqtarjuaq is served by Qikiqtarjuaq Airport, IATA: YVM, ICAO: CYVM. The community has two grocery stores; the Co-Op and the Northern Store (with a Canada Post kiosk). Various accommodations are available, and a health centre and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment are present. The community has a hamlet building where municipal affairs are conducted with a large community hall and meeting room. There is one school for K-12 students called Inuksuit School, and attached to the building is a small campus for Nunavut Arctic College.
Since 2005, the community has been served by the Qiniq network, a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. In 2020, Bell Mobility established a data tower and provides high-speed mobile and internet connectivity within the community.
Qikiqtarjuaq has a tundra climate, with the warmest month averaging below 6 °C. Summers tend to be cool with chilly nights, while winters are long and cold. Early winter is the snowiest time of the year, with more than half of all year snowfall on average falling during this period.
There is an access road that was built to Tisunaaq, also known as Ceetee Land to the Elders, and another road is in construction to Qikiqtarjuaqruluk, or Old Broughton, an abandoned settlement. Kivitoo, an old whaling station, is located 90 km to the north and is currently abandoned.
