On December 4, 2024, the Chief Legislative Counsel registered Hamlets Act R-034-2024, an order repealing the Kinngait Municipal Supervision Order. This legislative action was based on the Minister’s conclusion that the conditions necessitated municipal supervision of Kinngait no longer existed. The initial supervision order was enacted on January 30, 2024, as a result of a staffing crisis within the Hamlet of Kinngait, the sudden loss of critical administrative personnel, including the senior administrative officer, led Mayor Jimmy Manning to request intervention from the Government of Nunavut. Under the Hamlets Act, municipal supervision allows for direct governmental oversight to address operational or financial challenges while retaining the elected local leadership.

Louis Primeau was appointed as municipal supervisor shortly after the order took effect on January 26, 2024. Primeau’s mandate included overseeing the hamlet’s operations, managing daily activities, and addressing staffing shortages, particularly the vacant administrative roles that had disrupted local governance.

Kinngait’s supervision order, while initially scheduled to expire on January 25, 2025, was repealed ahead of time due to the Minister’s reassessment of the circumstances. However, some local officials continue to express uncertainty about whether the hamlet’s staffing issues are fully resolved.

Formerly known as Cape Dorset, Kinngait has a deep-rooted history as the site of significant archaeological discoveries, including remains of the Thule and pre-Inuit Dorset cultures, dating back thousands of years. The name “Cape Dorset” was assigned in 1631 by Captain Luke Foxe in honor of Edward Sackville, the 4th Earl of Dorset. Its Inuktitut name, Kinngait, reflecting the surrounding ice-free ocean area, was officially restored following a 2019 community vote. The hamlet’s population, as recorded in the 2021 Canadian census, was 1,396 residents, reflecting a slight decline from its 2016 figure. The community occupies a land area of 9.89 square kilometers and maintains a population density of 141.2 persons per square kilometer.

Kinngait has historically been an important cultural and economic hub, including the establishment of a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in 1913, which facilitated trade of furs and supplies. Today, the hamlet is characterized by a blend of traditional and modern transportation systems. Unpaved roads, navigable only within the village due to harsh winter conditions, accommodate cars, trucks, snowmobiles, and ATVs. Seasonal travel via boats and ships connects Kinngait to other areas when the Hudson Strait is ice-free, while the Cape Dorset Airport provides air travel within Nunavut and connections to external destinations through Iqaluit Airport.

While the repeal of the supervision order acknowledges progress in addressing governance challenges and the hamlet’s ability to overcome such operational difficulties will influence its trajectory as a self-sufficient and thriving community in the Arctic.

Nunavut (R-034-2024) December 30, 2024