About Resolute Bay

Resolute Bay, or Qausuittuq, is on the southern tip of Cornwallis Island facing the North West Passage, and is the second most northern community in Nunavut after Grise Fiord, at 74 degrees 42'N, 94 degrees 52' W.

Resolute Bay was named after one of the ships that were sent to search for the Franklin Expedition. Resolute was first a weather station and air force base shortly after World War II. It became an Inuit community with the relocation of several families from Pond Inlet and Northern Quebec. The first group of families were relocated in 1953 and the second group was relocated in 1955. In the summer 1975, the community itself was also relocated from its former place to its present place. The present community is on the utilidor system; the water is obtained from Char Lake through the pipeline system.

As the gateway to the High Arctic, Resolute Bay is the major stopover for expeditions to the North Pole and to Quttinirtaaq (Ellesmere Island) National Park, and provides a base for scientific research. There is a weather station as well as the Polar Continental Shelf Project research camp located within the community.

Population: 219