As temperatures drop and Nunavut starts to prepare for another fall, they’re reminded of one of Nunavut’s most urgent problems: housing.
Writer Andrew Morrison asserts Nunavut doesn’t need another study to make anyone aware of the crisis. They see it every day not only on the streets of Iqaluit, but in other, more hidden ways: students coming home with nowhere to live, families crammed into relatives’ homes and long-time Iqalummiut losing their staff housing when they retire. Too many people face various forms of homelessness in their own homeland.
The numbers back this up. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports that Iqaluit’s rental vacancy rate was just 0.3 per cent in 2025 — six empty units out of nearly 2,000. That leaves tenants with almost no alternatives and lets rents climb far beyond what many can afford.