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115-799: Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land ), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut , is the largest island in Canada , the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland ), and the fifth-largest island in the world . Its area is 507,451 km (195,928 sq mi) with a population density of 0.03/km; the population was 13,039 according to the 2021 Canadian census ; and it is located at 68°N 70°W  /  68°N 70°W  / 68; -70  ( Baffin Island ) . It also contains

230-760: A territory is that provinces receive their power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867 ), whereas territories are federal territories whose governments are creatures of statute with powers delegated to them by the Parliament of Canada . The powers flowing from the Constitution Act are divided between the Government of Canada (the federal government) and

345-752: A Senior Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History , wrote that there is insufficient published evidence to support Sutherland's claims, and that the Dorset were using spun cordage by the 6th century. In 1992, Elizabeth Wayland Barber wrote that a piece of three-ply yarn that dates to the Paleolithic era, that ended about 10,000 BP, was found at the Lascaux caves in France. This yarn consisted of three s-twist strands that were z-plied, much like

460-750: A base to the navy of an adversary), as well as to support amphibious operations throughout the region (such as the Chesapeake campaign during the American War of 1812 ). Bermuda was consequently the most important British naval and military base in the Americas. Canadian confederation resulted in the Canadian Militia becoming responsible for the defence of the Maritimes, the abolition of the British Army's commander-in-chief there, and

575-559: A difference in social status between families or households. The presence of small quantities of native copper from the western arctic and meteoric iron from north-west Greenland indicate the existence of trade networks taking place in Thule culture. The different stages of the Thule Tradition are distinguished by their different styles of making tools and art. The later stages, Punuk and Birnirk , have greater representation in

690-665: A great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation. They receive " transfer payments " from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes. In practice, however, the federal government can use these transfer payments to influence these provincial areas. For instance, in order to receive healthcare funding under Medicare , provinces must agree to meet certain federal mandates, such as universal access to required medical treatment. Provincial and territorial legislatures have no second chamber like

805-529: A highly developed Inuit culture of northeastern Asiatic origin and pre-Thule in age. A strong maritime adaptation is characteristic of the Thule, and the OBS stage, and then can be seen in the archaeological evidence. Both Kayaks and umiaks (large skinned boats) appear in the archaeological record for the first time. The toolkits of the people of the time are dominated by polished-slate rather than flaked-stone artifacts, including lanceolate knives, projectile heads, and

920-443: A large snow bank where they dig a den in which to spend the winter and later give birth. The polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct demes of the circumpolar region . Red foxes can be found predominantly in the southernmost areas of Baffin Island, away from the harshest of winter weather, though some individuals may forage and explore elsewhere. The Arctic foxes can usually be found where polar bears venture on

1035-524: A lieutenant-general termed a general officer commanding and the Bermuda garrison becoming a command in its own right. Bermuda was consequently left out of the confederation of Canada, though it retained naval links with Halifax and the state church (or established church ), the Church of England , continued to place Bermuda under the bishop of Newfoundland until 1919 (Bermuda also remained linked to

1150-656: A prolonged economic crisis , and the legislature turned over political control to the Newfoundland Commission of Government in 1933. Following Canada's participation in the Second World War , in a 1948 referendum , a narrow majority of Newfoundland citizens voted to join the Confederation, and on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province. The province was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. Bermuda ,

1265-665: A temporary mining community there. Baffin Island is home to the Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary . The Dewey Soper Migratory Bird Sanctuary, named for J. Dewey Soper , is located on the western side of Baffin Island from Bowman Bay to the Koukdjuak River . It is an 8,159 km (3,150 sq mi) area that was classified a wetland of international importance via

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1380-810: A third of Canada's area but are only home to 0.3% of its population, which skews the national population density value. Canada's population grew by 5.0% between the 2006 and 2011 censuses. Except for New Brunswick , all territories and provinces increased in population during this time. In terms of percent change, the fastest-growing province or territory was Nunavut with an increase of 12.7% between 2011 and 2016, followed by Alberta with 11.6% growth, while New Brunswick's population decreased by 0.5%. Generally, Canadian provinces have steadily grown in population along with Canada. However, some provinces such as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. Ontario and Quebec have always been

1495-664: A warming trend which occurred between 900 and 1200 in the northern hemisphere, resulted in the lengthened season of open water along the North Alaskan Coast, and an extension of the summer range of bowhead whales into the Beaufort Sea and further east into the Canadian Archipelago. Like other whale species, bowheads tend to avoid ice-choked channels and passages because of the possibility of entrapment and death. General climatic warming may have reduced

1610-617: A whole. This lower percentage of Indigenous peoples on Baffin Island results from Iqaluit being 59.29 per cent Indigenous and 40.65 per cent non-Indigenous. Of the total population 72.17 per cent are Inuit , 0.92 per cent are First Nations , and 0.73 per cent are Métis . Except for a few First Nations people in Arctic Bay all non-Inuit Indigenous peoples live in Iqaluit. The hamlets of Kinngait (population: 1,396) and Qikiqtarjuaq (population: 593) do not lie on Baffin Island proper. Kinngait

1725-528: Is a 1974 film set on and filmed on Baffin Island. All performers except three Hollywood actors were Inuit who spoke their own language . Provinces and territories of Canada Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution . In the 1867 Canadian Confederation , three provinces of British North America — New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and

1840-677: Is at a similar latitude. Sea ice surrounds the island for most of the year and only disappears completely from the north coast for short, unpredictable periods from mid- to late June until the end of September. Most of Baffin Island lies north of the Arctic Circle —all communities from Pangnirtung northwards have polar night in winter and midnight sun in summer. The eastern community of Clyde River has twilight instead of night from April 26 until May 13, continuous sunlight for 2 1 ⁄ 2 months from May 14 to July 28, then twilight instead of night from July 29 until August 16. This gives

1955-779: Is called the National Assembly . Ontario has a legislative assembly but its members are called members of the Provincial Parliament or MPPs. The legislative assemblies use a procedure similar to that of the House of Commons of Canada . The head of government of each province, called the premier , is generally the head of the party with the most seats. This is also the case in Yukon, but the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no political parties at

2070-676: Is easy to pick out OBS technology because of the artistic curvilinear dots, circles, and shorter lines that were used to decorate their tools. The chronological relationship between the Okvik and Old Bering Seas cultures has been the subject of debate and remains largely undecided, based mainly on art styles. Some consider it to be a distinct culture pre-dating Old Bering Sea, but the close similarity and overlapping radiocarbon dates suggest Okvik and Old Bering Sea are best considered as roughly contemporaneous, with regional variants. A 2019 genetic analysis concluded that between 2,700 and 4,900 years ago,

2185-585: Is one of the major nesting destinations from the Eastern and Mid-West flyways for many species of migrating birds . Waterfowl include eiders , Canada goose , snow goose , cackling goose , and brant goose (brent goose). Shore birds include the phalarope , various waders (commonly called sandpipers ), murres including Brünnich's guillemot , and plovers . Gull species also nest on Baffin Island and they include Sabine's gull , glaucous gull , herring gull and ivory gull . Long-range travellers include

2300-553: Is situated on Dorset Island , which is located a few kilometres from the south eastern tip of the Foxe Peninsula . Similarly, Qikiqtarjuaq is situated on Broughton Island , which is located near the northern coast of the Cumberland Peninsula . The Mary River Mine , an iron ore mine with an estimated 21-year life, at Mary River , may include building a railway and a port to transport the ore. This may create

2415-842: Is thought to have been a trading post. The Saga of Erik the Red , 1880 translation into English by J. Sephton from the original Icelandic Eiríks saga rauða : They sailed away from land; then to the Vestribygd and to Bjarneyjar (the Bear Islands). Thence they sailed away from Bjarneyjar with northerly winds. They were out at sea two half-days. Then they came to land, and rowed along it in boats, and explored it, and found there flat stones, many and so great that two men might well lie on them stretched on their backs with heel to heel. Polar-foxes were there in abundance. This land they gave name to, and called it Helluland (stone-land). In September 2008,

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2530-592: The Nunatsiaq News , a weekly newspaper, reported that Patricia Sutherland , who worked at the Canadian Museum of Civilization , had found archaeological remains of yarn and cordage [string] , rat droppings, tally sticks , a carved wooden Dorset culture face mask depicting Caucasian features, and possible architectural remains, which indicated that European traders and possibly settlers had been on Baffin Island not later than 1000 CE. What

2645-532: The Skrælingjar . Some Thule migrated southward, in the "Second Expansion" or "Second Phase". By the 13th or 14th century, the Thule had occupied an area inhabited until then by the Central Inuit , and by the 15th century, the Thule had replaced the Dorset. Intensified contacts with Europeans began in the 18th century. Compounded by the already disruptive effects of the " Little Ice Age " (1650–1850),

2760-669: The 2021 Canadian census was 13,039 giving a population density of 0.03/km (0.07/sq mi). The population accounts for 67.37 per cent of the 19,355 people in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, 56.51 per cent of the population of the Arctic Archipelago , and 35.38 per cent of the population of Nunavut. As of the 2016 Canadian census the majority, 74.06 per cent, were Indigenous peoples and 25.83 per cent were non-Indigenous. This compares to 88.85 per cent and 14.12 per cent Indigenous and non-Indigenous people for Nunavut as

2875-625: The Alberta Party and Saskatchewan Party . The provincial political climate of Quebec is different: the main split is between sovereignty , represented by the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire , and federalism , represented primarily by the Quebec Liberal Party . The Coalition Avenir Québec , meanwhile, takes an abstentionist position on the question and does not support or oppose sovereignty. Currently,

2990-462: The Arctic tern , which migrates from Antarctica every spring. The varieties of water birds that nest here include coots , loons , mallards , and many other duck species. In the water (and under the ice), the main year-round species is the ringed seal subspecies, the Arctic ringed seal . It lives offshore within 8 km (5.0 mi) of land. In winter, it makes a number of breathing holes in

3105-562: The Baffin Island wolf , a grey wolf subspecies, are also year-round residents of Baffin Island. Unlike the grey wolf in southern climes, Arctic wolves often have smaller social networks, due to the barren landscape and minimal resources, thus resulting in unique hierarchies when compared with wolves found further south. For example, Arctic wolves often do not hunt in packs, although a male-female pair may hunt together. Nesting birds are summer land visitors to Baffin Island. Baffin Island

3220-576: The Canadian Senate . Originally, most provinces had such bodies, known as legislative councils , with members titled councillors. These upper houses were abolished one by one, Quebec's being the last in 1968. In most provinces, the single house of the legislature is known as the Legislative Assembly; the exceptions are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the chamber is called the House of Assembly , and Quebec where it

3335-581: The Cape York meteorite . The Classic Thule tradition relied heavily on the bowhead whale for survival because bowhead whales swim slowly and sleep near the water's surface. Bowhead whales served many purposes for the Thule people. The people could get a lot of meat for food, blubber for oil that could be used for fires for light and cooking purposes, and the bones could be used for building structures and making tools. The Thule people survived predominantly on fish, large sea mammals and caribou outside of

3450-559: The Colony of British Columbia . NWT included the northern two-thirds of Ontario and Quebec. After the province of Manitoba was established in 1870, in a small area in the south of today's province, almost all of present-day Manitoba was still contained in the NWT. (Manitoba expanded to its present size in 1912.) The British claims to the Arctic islands were transferred to Canada in 1880, adding to

3565-595: The Dorset , and then by the Thule people , ancestors of the Inuit , who have lived on the island for the last thousand years. The Thule people genetically and culturally completely replaced the Dorset people some time after 1300 CE. In about 986, Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red , formed three settlements near the southwestern tip of Greenland. In late 985 or 986, Bjarni Herjólfsson , sailing from Iceland to Greenland,

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3680-598: The Hudson's Bay Company . In 1870, the company relinquished its claims for £300,000 (CND$ 1.5 million), assigning the vast territory to the government of Canada. Subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. The North-West Territories encompassed all of current northern and western Canada, except for the British holdings in the Arctic islands and

3795-479: The International Union for Conservation of Nature . Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife. On land, examples of year-round wildlife are barren-ground caribou , polar bear , Arctic fox , red fox , Arctic hare , lemming , and Baffin Island wolf . Barren-ground caribou herds migrate in a limited range from northern Baffin Island down to the southern part in winter, even to

3910-673: The Northwest Territories , such as some smaller islands: Qikiqtaaluk in Baffin Bay and Qikiqtaaluk in Foxe Basin . Norse explorers referred to it as Helluland ("stone land"). In 1576, English seaman Martin Frobisher made landfall on the island, naming it "Queen Elizabeth's Foreland" and Frobisher Bay is named after him. The island is named after English explorer William Baffin , who, in 1616, came across

4025-471: The Province of Canada (which upon Confederation was divided into Ontario and Quebec )—united to form a federation , becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it the world's second-largest country by area. The major difference between a Canadian province and

4140-587: The Ramsar Convention on May 24, 1982. It is home of the world's largest goose colony and supports a large number of barren-ground caribou . The Bowman Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is also located on the western side of Baffin Island near Bowman Bay in the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak . It is 1,079 km (417 sq mi) and is classified as Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) under

4255-579: The River St. Lawrence and Coast of America and North America and West Indies Station , the North America and Newfoundland Station , the North America and West Indies Station , and finally the America and West Indies Station ) main bases, dockyards, and Admiralty Houses. The squadron of the station was based at Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax , during the summers and Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda , in

4370-600: The archaeological record and are said to have spread further and lasted longer than their predecessor, the Old Bering Sea Stage. The Thule people are well known for their technological advances in transportation and hunting techniques and tools. The harpoon played a very significant role in whaling and the Thule people made several types of harpoon points out of whale bone . They also made inflated harpoon line floats to help them hunt larger prey. Where available, they used and traded iron from meteorites such as

4485-472: The bowhead whale . Found throughout the Arctic range, one group of bowhead whales is known to migrate to the Foxe Basin, a bay on the western side of Baffin Island. Baffin Island lies in the path of a generally northerly airflow all year round, so, like much of northeastern Canada, it has an extremely cold climate. This brings very long, cold winters and foggy, cloudy summers, which have helped to add to

4600-436: The fast ice close to land in their search for seals. Arctic foxes are scavengers and often follow polar bears to get their leavings. They also are known to take ground-nesting birds and their eggs and chicks, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, seagulls, shorebirds and even snowy owls, on occasion. On Baffin Island, Arctic foxes are sometimes trapped by Inuit , but there is no longer a robust fur industry . The Arctic wolf and

4715-426: The greatest purely vertical drop (a sheer cliff face) of any mountain on Earth, at 1,250 m (4,100 ft). The two largest lakes on the island lie in the south-central part of the island: Nettilling Lake (5,542 km; 2,140 sq mi) and Amadjuak Lake (3,115 km; 1,203 sq mi) further south. Baffin Island has been inhabited for over 3,000 years, first by the pre-Dorset , followed by

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4830-615: The 60° parallel, Ontario's to Hudson Bay and Quebec's to encompass the District of Ungava . In 1869, the people of Newfoundland voted to remain a British colony over fears that taxes would increase with Confederation, and that the economic policy of the Canadian government would favour mainland industries. In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada , Newfoundland underwent

4945-554: The Arctic , particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation leading to more complex international waters disputes . Thule people Evidence supports the idea that the Thule (and, to a lesser degree, the Dorset ) were in contact with the Vikings , who had reached the shores of Canada in the 11th century as part of the Norse colonization of North America . In Viking sources, these peoples are called

5060-875: The Beaufort Sea coast and Amundsen Gulf, entering the High Arctic via Parry Channel and Smith Sound. A second route led the Thule south, along the western coast of Hudson Bay. The culture of the Thule people varied greatly from the Dorset . Their success in hunting bowhead whales was facilitated through their use of large boats, and their vast foraging range through the use of dog sleds . In prime whaling areas, known Thule sites regularly contain fifteen to twenty houses, and in one case sixty. Clusters of houses suggest extended family units, and communal structures dedicated to ceremony have also been identified. Some form of hierarchical social structure may be identifiable though variations in dwelling size, form, and content (whaling equipment, non-local goods, etc.) which could point to

5175-844: The French government donated the land used for the Vimy Memorial "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". The site of the Somme battlefield near Beaumont-Hamel site was purchased in 1921 by the people of the Dominion of Newfoundland . These sites do not, however, enjoy extraterritorial status and are thus subject to French law. Since Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for

5290-563: The Frobisher Bay peninsula, next to Resolution Island , then migrating back north in the summer. In 2012, a survey of caribou herds found that the local population was only about 5,000, a decrease of as much as 95% from the 1990s. Arctic hares are found throughout Baffin Island. Their fur is pure white in winter and moults to a scruffy dark grey in summer. Arctic hares and lemmings are an important food source for Arctic and red foxes and Arctic wolves. Lemmings are also found throughout

5405-620: The Isortoq River. Although in the 1970s parts of Baffin Island failed to have the usual ice-free period in the summer. Climate tables from south to north The Hall Peninsula of southern Baffin Island includes the Chidliak Kimberlite Province , which had been found to include kimberlite pipes of diamond -bearing kimberlite . The Mary River iron ore mine began operating in 2015, and shipped 4.2 million tonnes of iron ore in 2023. The White Dawn

5520-451: The Maritimes under the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches). In 1903, resolution of the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbia's northwestern boundary. This was one of only two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. The second reduction, in 1927, occurred when a boundary dispute between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland saw Labrador enlarged at Quebec's expense; this land returned to Canada, as part of

5635-450: The North, for organizational and economic purposes. For much of the Northwest Territories' early history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration. The District of Keewatin was created as a separate territory from 1876 to 1905, after which, as the Keewatin Region, it became an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. In 1999, it was dissolved when it became part of Nunavut. Theoretically, provinces have

5750-420: The Norton tradition in Southern Alaska. There were differences between the areas to which the tradition migrated. Houses in the more eastern region were more above ground and round with stone platforms to sleep on. The shape and support for the buildings came from whale bones. Eastern populations preferred soapstone domestic items instead of pottery and developed the use of dogs to pull sleds. Sometime around

5865-488: The Thule communities broke apart, and the people were henceforward known as the Eskimo , and later, Inuit. The Thule Tradition lasted from about 200 BC to 1600 AD around the Bering Strait, the Thule people being the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit. Thule culture was mapped out by Therkel Mathiassen , following his participation as an archaeologist and cartographer of the Fifth Danish Expedition to Arctic America in 1921–1924. He excavated sites on Baffin Island and

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5980-435: The Thule culture at sites including Torngat Archaeological Project, Somerset Island , The Clachan site, Coronation Gulf , Nelson River, Baffin Island , Victoria Island, the Bell site, Devon Island – QkHn-12, and Cape York. A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of a large number of Thule people buried between ca. 1050 AD and 1600 AD. The examined individuals belonged overwhelmingly to

6095-403: The Thule migration and interaction with Greenland. There are many different theories as to why the Thule moved out of the Bering Strait. One is the cultural-ecological model developed by R. McGhee. The idea is that the first Thule families to move followed groups of bowhead whales , which were an important source of food, fuel and raw materials. The onset of the Neo-Atlantic climatic episode ,

6210-404: The Thule people reflects the population pressures of the Classic Thule, but the climate played a more important role. The onset of the " Little Ice Age " that occurred between 1400 and 1600 limited the use of boats and number of whales present in the area. This shortened the season for open-water whale hunting. By the 16th century, umiak and kayak whale hunting had ceased in the High Arctic. By 1600,

6325-425: The Thule people to thrive. They whaled together where one person would shoot the whale with the harpoon and the others would throw the floats on it and they all transferred the whale to land to butcher it together to share with the entire community. Their unity played a significant role in the length of time they thrived in the Arctic. There are several major archaeological research projects that have been conducted on

6440-431: The ancestors of the Thule emerged in Alaska through admixture between the Paleo-Eskimo and the Ocean Bay Tradition and that these ancestors subsequently migrated back to Siberia where they became the Old Bering Sea , only to eventually return to Alaska. The Punuk stage is a development of Old Bering Sea stage, with distribution along the major Strait islands and along to shores of the Chukchi Peninsula. The Punuk culture

6555-683: The ancient Arctic people, the Dorset and Thule, needed to be taught how to spin yarn: "It's a pretty intuitive thing to do." ...the date received on Sample 4440b from Nanook clearly indicates that sinew was being spun and plied at least as early, if not earlier, than yarn at this site. We feel that the most parsimonious explanation of this data is that the practice of spinning hair and wool into plied yarn most likely developed naturally within this context of complex, indigenous, Arctic fiber technologies, and not through contact with European textile producers. [...] Our investigations indicate that Paleoeskimo (Dorset) communities on Baffin Island spun threads from

6670-410: The back of the dwelling and were either built up or at floor level. No interior hearths were found in the house ruins, although heavily encrusted and fire-blackened pottery vessel fragments suggest extensive use of open fires. During this time, eastern Thule spread out throughout the High Arctic and into the south. Thule people were living along the Hudson Strait coasts, in the Hudson Bay region, on

6785-428: The beginning of the 2nd millennium, Thule people began migrating east. As western Thule peoples settled the northern and western coasts of Alaska, other Thule groups migrated eastward across the Canadian Arctic as far as Greenland . Prior to 1000, the central and eastern Canadian Arctic were occupied by people of the Dorset Culture . Within a few centuries, Dorset culture was completely displaced by Thule immigrants from

6900-423: The city of Iqaluit (with a population of around 7,000), which is the capital of Nunavut. The Inuktitut name for the island is Qikiqtaaluk , which means "very big island" ( qikiqtaq "island" + -aluk "very big") and in Inuktitut syllabics is written as ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ . This name is used for the administrative region the island is part of ( Qikiqtaaluk Region ), as well as in multiple places in Nunavut and

7015-460: The community just over 3 1 ⁄ 2 months without true night. In the winter, the sun sets on November 22 and does not rise again until January 19 of the next year. Pond Inlet has civil twilight from December 16 to December 26. However, there is twilight for at least 4 hours per day, unlike places such as Eureka . Like most of Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic , Baffin Island has a tundra climate ( Köppen climate classification ET ), although

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7130-411: The cooperation of several boats. The whaleboat captain, the umialik, is still a prominent position in Arctic communities today. Chipped stone tools were replaced by ground slate, ivory winged tolls were largely replaced by tridents, and iron-tipped tools were used for engraving. Harpoon styles became simpler and more standardised, as did Punuk art. The Punuk developed their methods of hunting that led to

7245-766: The creation of armor made from bone as well as the technology of the bow and arrow . As well, bone plated wrist guards, the reinforced bow, bird bola, heavy ivory net sinkers, and blunt tipped bird arrows appeared in the Punuk stage. Birnirk culture is best known along coastal northern and western Alaska. There are three phases of Birnirk culture: Early Birnirk, Middle Birnirk, and Late Birnirk. These phases were primarily distinguishable by gradual changes in harpoon head and arrow styles. Harpoon heads were more often made of antler, rather than ivory, and were characterized by medially-placed, trifurcated spurs during Early Birnirk, bifurcated in Middle Birnirk, and single-laterally-placed spurs in Late Birnirk. The Birnirk people used many of

7360-411: The creation of a new province but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament , a legislatively simpler process. In late 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status "eventually". He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the ongoing need to assert sovereignty in

7475-405: The divisions of responsibility between the provincial and federal government within the Constitution Act, 1867 , and each province thus has its own representative of the Canadian Crown , the lieutenant governor . The territories are not sovereign, but instead their authorities and responsibilities are devolved directly from the federal level, and as a result, have a commissioner that represents

7590-519: The earlier Norton Tradition . There are several stages of the Thule tradition: Old Bering Sea Stage, Punuk Stage, and Birnirk Stage. These stages represent variations of the Thule Tradition as it expanded over time. The Thule Tradition replaced the Dorset Tradition in the Eastern Arctic and introduced both kayaks and umiaks , or skin covered boats, into the archaeological record as well as developed new uses for iron and copper and demonstrated advanced harpoon technology and use of bowhead whales ,

7705-408: The extent and severity of pack ice, allowing bowheads and their Thule predators to expand eastward. Another theory is that warfare in Alaska or a desire to seek out new resources of iron for making tools such as knives may have encouraged people to move eastward. Archaeologists have used the distribution of early Alaskan-style harpoon heads to track the routes taken by Thule people. One route follows

7820-444: The federal government. There are three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay and all islands north of the Canadian mainland (from those in James Bay to the Queen Elizabeth Islands ). The following table lists

7935-403: The federal party. The Liberal Party of Canada shares such an organizational integration with Atlantic Canada provincial Liberals in New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , and Prince Edward Island . Other provincial Liberal parties are unaffiliated with their federal counterpart. Some provinces have provincial political parties with no clear federal equivalent, such as

8050-421: The feeding grounds in the Davis Strait between Greenland and Baffin Island, or into the Hudson Strait or any of the bays and estuaries in between. Usually travelling in pods of two or more, they can often be found very close to shore (100 m [330 ft] or less). They come up to breathe every 30 seconds or so as they make their way along the coastline eating crustaceans. Narwhals , which are known for

8165-406: The fifth Thule expedition. Therkel Mathiassen added upon their research and claimed that the tradition had started out in Alaska, and that Thule hunting was based on the dog sled, the large skin boat and the kayak which enabled them to range over a much greater hunting territory, participate in widespread trade, and transport heavier loads. Mathiassen was right about his hypotheses and even mapped out

8280-753: The hair and also from the sinews of native terrestrial grazing animals, most likely musk ox and arctic hare , throughout the Middle Dorset period and for at least a millennium before there is any reasonable evidence of European activity in the islands of the North Atlantic or in the North American Arctic. A long-running debate disputes whether the Vikings taught indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic how to spin yarn when

8395-537: The highest ice caps have an ice cap climate ( EF ). The sea is frozen for most of the year, and only a few months are above freezing. There can be seasonal lag in spring. The Barnes Ice Cap , in the middle of the island, has been retreating since at least the early 1960s, when the Geographical Branch of the then Department of Mines and Technical Surveys sent a three-man survey team to the area to measure isostatic rebound and cross-valley features of

8510-403: The human ties with the supernatural world. Post-Classic Thule tradition existed from 1400 up until European contact in areas where whales were not as prevalent so there is an increase in evidence of other means of subsistence, such as caribou, seal and fish. These settlements show a more gradual settlement of fewer whales and using more subsistence strategies from the west. The redistribution of

8625-414: The ice hardens further and further out to sea. As winter progresses, they will always remain where there is open water free of ice. When the ice melts, they move in to land and can be found basking on rocks close to shore. One of the largest walrus herds can be found in the Foxe Basin on the western side of Baffin Island. Beluga or white whales migrate along the coast of Baffin Island; some head north to

8740-440: The ice, up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick. It visits each one often to keep the hole open and free from ice. In March, when a female is ready to whelp, she will enlarge one of the breathing holes that has snow over it, creating a small " igloo " where she whelps one or two pups. Within three weeks the pups are in the water and swimming. In summer, some ringed seals keep to a narrow territory about 3 km (1.9 mi) along

8855-610: The indicia of sovereignty from the United Kingdom. Prior to this, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada. Over the following years, Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), and Prince Edward Island (1873) were added as provinces. The British Crown had claimed two large areas north-west of the Canadian colony, known as Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory , and assigned them to

8970-581: The invaders arrived in the region around 1,000 years ago. The team found that some of the spun yarn dates back at least 2,000 years, long before the Vikings arrived in the area. This shows that the indigenous peoples in the Canadian Arctic developed yarn-spinning technologies without any help from the Vikings, the scientists said. William W. Fitzhugh , Director of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian Institution , and

9085-595: The island and are a major food source for foxes, wolves and the snowy owl . In the winter, lemmings dig complicated tunnel systems through the snow drifts to get to their food supply of dry grasses and lichens . Polar bears can be found all along the coast of Baffin Island but are most prevalent where the sea ice takes the form of pack ice , where their major food sources— ringed seals (jar seal) and bearded seals —live. Polar bears mate approximately every year, bearing one to three cubs around March. Female polar bears may travel 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) inland to find

9200-555: The island and are a part of the Arctic Cordillera . The highest peak is Mount Odin , with an elevation of at least 2,143 m (7,031 ft), although some sources say 2,147 m (7,044 ft). Another peak of note is Mount Asgard , located in Auyuittuq National Park , with an elevation of 2,011 m (6,598 ft). Mount Thor , with an elevation of 1,675 m (5,495 ft), is said to have

9315-661: The island while trying to discover the Northwest Passage . It was also formerly known as James Island . Iqaluit , the capital of Nunavut, is located on the southeastern coast. Until 1987, the town was called Frobisher Bay, after the English name for Frobisher Bay on which it is located, named for Martin Frobisher . That year the community voted to restore the Inuktitut name. To the south lies Hudson Strait , separating Baffin Island from mainland Quebec . South of

9430-525: The largest animal in the Arctic. and spread across the coasts of Labrador and Greenland. It is the most recent "neo-Eskimo" culture. The Old Bering Sea (OBS) stage was first characterized by Diamond Jenness , on the basis of a collection of deeply patinated decorated ivory harpoon heads and other objects dug up by natives on the St. Lawrence and Diomede Islands. Jenness identified the Bering Sea culture as

9545-632: The last British North American colony, which had been somewhat subordinated to Nova Scotia, was one of two Imperial fortress colonies in British North America ;– the other being Nova Scotia, and more particularly the city of Halifax. Halifax and Bermuda were the sites of the Royal Navy's North America Station (or, depending on the time period and the extent of the Western Hemisphere it included,

9660-399: The males' long, spiralling single tusk, can also be found along the coast of Baffin Island in the summer. Much like their beluga cousins, they may be found in pairs or even in a large pod of ten or more males, females and newborns. They also can be often found close to the shoreline, gracefully pointing their tusks skyward as they come up for air. The largest summer visitor to Baffin Island is

9775-480: The maternal haplogroup A2a , while samples of A , A2b and D3a2a were also detected. It was found that the Thule people probably descended from the Birnirk culture of Siberia, and that they were genetically very different from the indigenous Dorset people of northern Canada and Greenland, whom they culturally and genetically completely replaced around 1300 AD. The study found no evidence of genetic mixing between

9890-502: The northwestern Hudson Bay region, which he considered to be the remains of a highly developed Eskimo whaling culture that had originated in Alaska and moved to Arctic Canada approximately 1000 years ago. There are three stages of development leading up to Thule culture; they are Okvik/Old Bering Sea, Punuk, Birnirk, and then Thule culture. These groups of peoples have been referred to as "Neo-Eskimo" cultures, which are differentiated from

10005-689: The one minority provincial/territorial government is held by the Liberals in Yukon . They are in government with a formal confidence and supply agreement from the Yukon New Democratic Party . The Canadian National Vimy Memorial , near Vimy , Pas-de-Calais, and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial , near Beaumont-Hamel , both in France, are ceremonially considered Canadian territory. In 1922,

10120-536: The people had moved on and abandoned the High Arctic due to the severe climate changes . The Thule Eskimos who lived near open water were not as affected by the decrease in temperature. It was during this time that local groups such as the Copper Inuit , Netsilik , and Inglulingmuit ( Inuit from the Igloolik area) emerged. Between 900 and 1100, the Thule Tradition spread westward. The efficiency of housing

10235-494: The possibility that as "remote as it may seem," these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland. Sutherland's research eventually led to a 2012 announcement that whetstones had been found with remnants of alloys indicative of Viking presence. In 2018, Michele Hayeur Smith of Brown University , who specialises in the study of ancient textiles , wrote that she does not think

10350-410: The province of Newfoundland, in 1949. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the western portion of Northern Canada, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km (1,514,192 sq mi) in land area. They are often referred to as a single region,

10465-426: The provincial governments to exercise exclusively. A change to the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment , whereas a similar change affecting the territories can be performed unilaterally by the Parliament of Canada or government. In modern Canadian constitutional theory , the provinces are considered to be co-sovereign within certain areas based on

10580-577: The reduction of British military forces in the Maritimes to a small garrison for the protection of the Halifax dockyard, which would be withdrawn when that dockyard was handed over to the Dominion government in 1905 for use by the new Canadian naval service. Britain retained control of Bermuda as an imperial fortress, with the governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda (a military officer previously ranking between lieutenant-colonel and major-general) becoming

10695-623: The remoteness of the island. Spring thaw arrives much later than normal for a position straddling the Arctic Circle : around early June at Iqaluit in the south-east but around early- to mid-July on the north coast where glaciers run right down to sea level. Snow, even heavy snow, can occur at any time of the year, although it is least likely in July and early August. Average annual temperatures at Iqaluit are around −9.5 °C (14.9 °F), compared with around 5 °C (41 °F) in Reykjavík , which

10810-638: The same hunting methods and technology as Punuk and Old Bering Sea, but there was no art. There is very little evidence of tool or weapon decoration. The little art that was present in the Birnirk stage was limited to spiral and concentric motifs on clay pots with bone paddles. They did use sledges, of the same basic design as were later used with dog teams. Birnirk people were sea-mammal hunters who engaged in fishing and whaling. Birnirk houses were square shaped, with walls constructed of horizontal logs and single or double posts in each corner. Sleeping areas were at

10925-506: The same name. For example, no provincial Conservative or Progressive Conservative Party shares an organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada , and neither do provincial Green Parties to the Green Party of Canada . Provincial New Democratic Parties, on the other hand, are fully integrated with the federal New Democratic Party —meaning that provincial parties effectively operate as sections, with common membership, of

11040-442: The same time, then dive and swim up to 1–2 km (0.62–1.24 mi) before surfacing again. They migrate in large pods consisting of a hundred or more seals to within 1–8 km (0.62–4.97 mi) of the shoreline, which they then follow, feeding on crustaceans and fish. Walruses , which do not migrate far off land in the winter. They merely follow the fast ice , or ice that is solidly attached to land, and stay ahead of it as

11155-445: The shoreline but may move out into the open water. In the spring they spend more time on the surface of the ice. Water species that visit Baffin Island in the summer are: Harp seals (or saddle-backed seals), which migrate from major breeding grounds off the coast of Labrador and the southeast coast of Greenland to Baffin Island for the summer. Migrating at speeds of 15–20 km/h (9.3–12.4 mph), they all come up to breathe at

11270-619: The shores of the Foxe Basin , and along the present-day Canadian mainland from the Mackenzie Delta to the Melville Peninsula . The archaeologist Alan McCartney originally coined the term "Classic Thule" with reference to the population that existed between 1100 and 1400 AD. The Thule people still lived in semi-subterranean winter houses, but in the summer moved into skin tents, the edges held down by circles of stone. The Thule were using iron long before European contact. In

11385-526: The size of the North-West Territories. In 1898 the Yukon Territory, later renamed "Yukon" in 2003, was carved from the area surrounding the Klondike gold fields . On September 1, 1905, a portion of the North-West Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba were expanded northward: Manitoba's to

11500-501: The source of this Old World contact may have been is unclear and controversial; the newspaper article states: Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So, as Sutherland said, if you believe that spinning was not an indigenous technique that was used in Arctic North America, then you have to consider

11615-413: The territorial level. The King's representative in each province is the lieutenant governor . In each of the territories there is an analogous commissioner , but they represent the federal government rather than the monarch. Most provinces have rough provincial counterparts to major federal parties. However, these provincial parties are not usually formally linked to the federal parties that share

11730-591: The territories in order of precedence (each province has precedence over all the territories, regardless of the date each territory was created). Another territory, the District of Keewatin , existed from October 7, 1876, until September 1, 1905, when it rejoined the Northwest Territories and became the Keewatin Region . It occupied the area that is now the Kenora District of Ontario, northern Manitoba, and mainland Nunavut. The government of Keewatin

11845-498: The two biggest provinces in Canada, with together over 60% of the population at any given time. The population of the West relative to Canada as a whole has steadily grown over time, while that of Atlantic Canada has declined. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were the original provinces, formed when several British North American colonies federated on July 1, 1867, into the Dominion of Canada and by stages began accruing

11960-639: The ulu transverse-bladed knife. The people also made a crude form of pottery and there was much use of bone and antlers for heads on harpoons, as well as to make darts, spears, snow goggles, blubber scrapers, needles, awls and mattocks, also walrus shoulder-blade snow shovels. There are many important innovations that emerged that allowed hunting to be more efficient. Harpoon mounted ice picks were used for seal hunting, as well as ivory plugs and mouthpieces for inflating harpoon line floats, which enabled them to recover larger sea mammals when dispatched. These people relied heavily on seal and walrus for subsistence. It

12075-599: The way a three-ply yarn is made now, the Baffin Island yarn was a simple two-ply yarn. The eight sod buildings and artifacts found in the 1960s at L'Anse aux Meadows , located on the northern tip of Newfoundland Island , remains the only confirmed Norse site in North America outside of those found in Greenland. Baffin Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region . The population of Baffin Island at

12190-741: The west it was used in small quantities for carving knives and for engraving other tools. The iron came both from meteoric resources and from trade from the Norse expansion; the Thule worked raw iron into tools for their own use. Iron enabled the Thule people to work with more materials to make more wood and bone tools. The only problem they faced was a lack of a steady supply of metal. The Thule were clever with technology. Reports on classic Thule sites lists myriad artifacts used for hunting. Classic Thule did not place much emphasis on art. There were slight artistic details on household things such as combs but it involved very simple, linear designs featuring people without appendages, animals, or symbols that represented

12305-526: The west. Evidence of contact between Dorset and Thule peoples is scarce and the nature of the Dorset/Thule succession remains poorly understood. Thule culture was first identified in the Eastern Arctic by interdisciplinary researches of Danish scholars between 1921 and 1924. A team of anthropologists, archaeologists and natural scientists compiled a massive description of the Canadian Arctic on

12420-624: The western end of the island is the Fury and Hecla Strait , which separates the island from the Melville Peninsula on the mainland. To the east are Davis Strait and Baffin Bay , with Greenland beyond. The Foxe Basin , the Gulf of Boothia and Lancaster Sound separate Baffin Island from the rest of the Arctic Archipelago to the west and north. The Baffin Mountains run along the northeastern coast of

12535-510: The whaling communities. Because they had advanced transportation technology, they had access to a wider range of food sources. There is superb faunal preservation in Thule sites due to a late prehistoric date as well as an arctic environment. Most of the bowhead artifacts were harvested from live bowhead whales. The Thule developed an expertise in hunting and utilizing as many parts of an animal as possible. This knowledge combined with their growing wealth of tools and modes of transportation allowed

12650-617: The winters until the 1820s, when Bermuda (which was better located to control the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, impossible to attack over land, and almost impregnable against attack over water) became the main base year round. A large British Army garrison in Bermuda , which fell under the commander-in-chief in Nova Scotia , existed to defend the colony as a naval base (and to prevent it becoming as useful

12765-617: Was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The territory did not have any representation in federal parliament. The vast majority of Canada's population is concentrated in areas close to the Canada–US border . Its four largest provinces by area ( Quebec , Ontario , British Columbia and Alberta ) are also (with Quebec and Ontario switched in order) its most populous; together they account for 86% of the country's population. The territories (the Northwest Territories , Nunavut and Yukon ) account for over

12880-500: Was blown off course and sighted land southwest of Greenland. Bjarni appears to be the first European to see Baffin Island, and the first European to see North America beyond Greenland. It was about 15 years later that the Norse Greenlanders , led by Leif Erikson , a son of Erik the Red, started exploring new areas around the year 1000. Baffin Island is thought to be Helluland , and the archaeological site at Tanfield Valley

12995-453: Was held up by whale jaw-bones, and covered in skins, sod and then snow. These houses were nicely insulated, and would have been only visible to the occupants. Whaling has a greater emphasis in the Punuk stage. Hunters would use umiaks and kill whales in narrow ice leads as well as in the open sea in the fall. Open sea whaling required skilled leadership, teams of expert boatmen and hunters, and

13110-482: Was improved as they spread to the west and hunting methods were improved due to the use of dog sleds , umiaks , and kayaks . This enabled the hunters to travel further to hunt and follow the migration of the large game and sea mammals . After 1000, the practice of using polished slate for tool making continued to spread to the Aleutian Islands . The methods of pottery making also spread and replaced

13225-683: Was initially defined by Henry Collins in 1928 from a 16 ft (4.9 m) deep midden on one of the Punuk Islands. Later excavation on St Lawrence Island confirmed Jenness's ideas on the Bering Sea culture, and demonstrated a continual cultural sequence on the island from Old Bering Sea, to Punuk, to modern Eskimo culture. Punuk is differentiated with Old Bering Sea through its artifact styles and house forms, as well as harpoon styles and whale hunting. Punuk settlements were larger and more common than earlier villages. They were subterranean, square or rectangular dwellings with wooden floors. The house

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