Highways in Nunavut

Currently, an estimated total of 850 km (530 mi) of roads and highways are spread across Nunavut. Over the next decade the amount of roads in the territory is expected to increase rapidly as more communities are linked together, and a road link to Manitoba is at planning stage.

Most vehicles in the territory are moved from community to community and in and out of the territory by large barges that move during the summer shipping season. Less commonly, vehicles may be flown in on a cargo plane. Car companies will usually fly vehicles in to test them in Arctic conditions.

There is currently one winter road that provides access to the western portion of Nunavut from the Northwest Territories during the months of February to March. In recent winters, this road has not been constructed as far as Nunavut.

Highways in Nunavut, the few that exist, are not yet numbered. Street signs are in English, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun.

Compared to the rest of Canada, maintaining a vehicle in Nunavut is expensive. Rough roads and harsh weather result in expensive upkeep for vehicles, and despite being subsidised by the government, gas prices are among the highest in Canada. Parts can take an extremely long time to ship in and are very expensive. Mechanics also charge a premium, since very few do business in the territory. Due to the lack of a cohesive road network, aircraft are still the preferred way to travel, along with ATVs through most of the year, snowmobiles in winter, and boats during the summer months. Travel by dog sled has largely disappeared, although recreational dog-sledding is still common.

About 4000 vehicles are registered in the territory. Many makes and models of vehicles can be found in the territory, but the most common are heavy-duty four-wheel-drive vehicles such as sport utility, jeeps and full-size vans. A wide range of vehicles can be found in Iqaluit, where the government tends to do most of its business and the road system consists of paved and chip-sealed portions, although it too is primarily dirt.

Despite Nunavut's isolation from the rest of Canada's road network, provincial license plates can be found from Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Northwest Territories, as well as government plates from the Department of National Defense; vehicles of all provincial plates can sometimes be found in the territory. Nunavut, like the Northwest Territories, is one of the few jurisdictions in the world where non-rectangular licence plates can be found; which soon may change as the Nunavut government is considering a license plate design change to avoid confusion with that of the Northwest Territories once more road connections and highways are built.

Vehicles can display their old provincial plates for ninety days before they must be registered in the territory.

The only road that links communities is the unnamed, unnumbered road (see below) between Arctic Bay and Nanisivik, although Nanisivik was closed in 2005, and being contaminated with lead, is unlikely to be occupied in future. This road is used to access Nanisivik Airport and for an annual marathon.

An ice road, almost entirely within the Northwest Territories, from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to Contwoyto Lake (see below), open for just two months per year, is the only surface vehicle access from the North American highway network that reaches across the Nunavut border, but there are no settlements at the end, only diamond mining operations and worker lodgings. The road is a dangerous one for truckers, who risk breaking through the ice.

A road was briefly considered in 2004 for construction between Iqaluit and Kimmirut (formerly known as Lake Harbour), but it would be four times longer than the direct air-distance between the communities, and the idea was dropped.

A proposal is in place for a billion-dollar highway to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut from Gillam, Manitoba with a connection to Churchill, Manitoba, a route that was chosen over two other alternatives from Thompson and Lynn Lake. This highway along the west shore of Hudson Bay would be the first true highway into Nunavut from the provinces.