Like most working people, when Covid-19 shut down the territory earlier, Daniel Alagalak found himself without a job. Alagalak has been working as a carpenter for Arviat’s local housing association ever since he completed his apprenticeship a few years back. Then one day, a local woman asked if he and his friend Samuel Karetak could […]
Best friends start up carpentry business in Arviat Read More »
When Rankin Inlet’s Inuujaq Leslie Fredlund decided she was going to open her store selling Indigenous-made products at the beginning of 2020, she knew there would be challenges ahead. But not even she could have expected a global pandemic that would bring the local economy to a grinding halt. “It was the summer of 2019
Inuujaq Leslie Fredlund’s Maybe Somewhere grows despite launching just before pandemic Read More »
Zipporah and Moses Oyukuluk are seeing a gradual return of guests at their Tangmaarvik Inn after the pandemic wiped out bookings from mid-March through June. “Covid-19 touched our business quite a bit,” Zipporah said. Moses and Zipporah Oyukuluk started out with a taxi business in Arctic Bay in the 1990s. They branched into heavy equipment
‘We’re still standing’; Arctic Bay entrepreneurs cope with Covid fallout Read More »
Imagine a Kivalliq region with no gold mining. When businessman Patrick Tagoona pictures it in his mind, he envisions an entirely different line of work for himself. “The likelihood of me being an entrepreneur and getting into this would have been essentially non-existent,” says Tagoona, president of Nunavut Investments Ltd., based in Rankin Inlet. “It’s
Nunavut Mining: Businessman Patrick Tagoona’s strategy is to diversify Read More »
Ryan St. John has been building business around the Kivalliq mining and exploration industries for decades and he isn’t slowing down. Ryan St. John, left, and Les Fernandez, Sherp’s dealer relations manager for North America, stand in front of a Sherp amphibious all-terrain vehicle, which could be of interest to mining and exploration companies, tourists
Nunavut Mining: Ryan St. John is always searching for new opportunities Read More »
Levy Uttak of Iglulik captured the Most Inspiring Cultural Ambassador award from the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada on Nov. 14. The distinction goes to someone who “inspires those around them in a way they represent their culture to visitors. The recipient leads by example and provides guidance and mentorship to those who are finding
Iglulik’s Levy Uttak wins national tourism award Read More »
Mavis Elias Adjun and her spouse Colin have not only learned to take over a business, they’re expanding on it. Mavis worked for Webb Outfitting for years, but the late owner, Fred Webb, was eventually ready to retire. He sold the company to Mavis and Colin in 2015. “We never ran a business in anything
Mavis Elias Adjun expanding into eco-tourism in Kugluktuk Read More »
Business partners Kirsten Kaludjak and Lindsay Kidlapik have made one dream a reality and they have another in mind. The Arviat bakers opened K&L Pastries two years ago after completing Inspire Nunavut, a six-month social entrepreneurship training program and business incubator that travels to communities in the territory. “Inspire Nunavut helped a lot. They hired
K&L Pastries and Catering in Arviat still going strong after two years Read More »
Arctic Fresh, an Iglulik-based online retailer that brings groceries and other products to Nunavummiut, is ambitiously aiming to serve all of Nunavut, perhaps as soon as next year, says CEO Rhoda Angutimarik. The company, which is currently operational in 13 communities, recently earned a social enterprise award through Startup Canada, an organization that supports and
Award-winning Arctic Fresh plans to expand Read More »
Charles Zikalala can remember landing in a Nunavut community and having to walk from the airport into town, luggage in hand. “It was kind of hard,” he said.
Cam Bay cab company expanding to Kugluktuk, Rankin Inlet Read More »