About Whale Cove

The community of Whale Cove (or Tikiraqjuaq, meaning "long point" in Inuktitut), is located at the tip of a long peninsula on the west coast of Hudson Bay at N62 11' W92 34' in Nunavut’s Kivalliq Region. It is approximately 80 km south of Rankin Inlet, 145 km north of Arviat and 483 km north of Churchill, Manitoba.

Whale Cove has a long history as a trading ground and a place for whale hunting, dating back to the time when whalers and representatives of the Hudson’s Bay Company visited the community in the 18th century. A stone and concrete whale’s tail monument was built in 1967 to recognize both the significance of whales in the development of the community and Canada’s Centennial. This monument stands on a rock outcrop above the community.

The community began to assume its current form starting around 1959, when the federal government began encouraging Inuit from numerous camps in the area to move to the town site. This combined three distinct Inuit groups (one inland, two coastal) as settlement began to take place. Today, Whale Cove retains elements of Inuit traditional lifestyle with many residents participating in subsistence harvesting and the practice of traditional skills. Whale Cove is a non-decentralized community (i.e. no Government of Nunavut departments are based in the community).

Population: 439