Nunavut: territorial economy at a glance

The Government of Nunavut's finance department says mining now accounts for almost 50% of the economy, by far the industry's highest share in Canada, and forecasts that the public sector will account for roughly 28% of all goods and services produced in 2026. Statistics Canada's real output series, in chained 2017 dollars, puts mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction at 34.0% in 2025. The government's chart of shares by sector cites Statistics Canada table 36-10-0400-01, which gives each industry's share at current prices, so the two figures are measured on different bases.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators; Statistics Canada: Table 36-10-0400-01: Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories, percentage share

CMHC says Nunavut's growth in 2024, its fastest in five years, was supported by elevated gold prices, higher output at existing mines and major capital projects, and that mining contracted in 2025 as Baffinland Iron Mines reduced production at Mary River by roughly one third amid weaker iron ore prices.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

Statistics Canada reported in May 2026 that Nunavut's mining activity was down as iron ore declined by 27.2 per cent in 2025 while construction increased 21.8 per cent on a new gold mine and reconstruction after the Whale Cove facility fire; its revised series of 5 November 2026 puts the rise in construction at 20.8%.

Evidence: Statistics Canada: The Daily: Gross domestic product by industry: Provinces and territories, 2025

The territory's finance department expects real GDP to grow by over 11% in 2026 and says B2Gold's Goose property achieved its first gold pour in June 2025, but names financial trouble at Baffinland as a downside risk.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

Job Bank relays a private Signal49 forecast of strong growth for Nunavut, and the territory's own forecast is higher still. Statistics Canada's revised accounts of 5 November 2026 say GDP rose in Nunavut in 2025, and its revised industry series shows 0.8% at basic prices; the market-price series held here, measured at 2017 constant prices rather than chained dollars, shows -2.7%. The forecasts are not reconciled here.

Evidence: Employment and Social Development Canada (Job Bank): Economic Scan - Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 2026; Statistics Canada: The Daily: Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2025

Statistics Canada reported in November 2025 that Nunavut almost doubled its growth in 2024, increasing 7.5 per cent after rising 3.8 per cent in 2023, with mining contributing most; its revised series now puts the two years at 6.7% and 3.3%.

Evidence: Statistics Canada: Gross domestic product by industry: Provinces and territories, 2024

The Nunavut Bureau of Statistics reports that the unemployment rate increased from 8.3 per cent to 10.3 per cent in 2025, that the Inuit unemployment rate rose from 11.4 per cent to 13.8 per cent, and that employment grew modestly by 200 jobs.

Evidence: Nunavut Bureau of Statistics (Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey): Nunavut Statistical Brief: Labour Force Survey, January 2026 (annual 2025)

Statistics Canada reports that Nunavut continued to have the highest poverty rate in Canada in 2024, at 31.7 per cent, reflecting the higher cost of living in the North.

Evidence: Statistics Canada: The Daily: Canadian Income Survey, 2024

Job Bank says Nunavut has the youngest population in Canada, with a median age of 27.1 years.

Evidence: Employment and Social Development Canada (Job Bank): Economic Scan - Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 2026

CMHC says population growth continues to be driven by natural increase, supported by Canada's highest fertility rate, but that Nunavut continued to lose working-age residents to other parts of Canada amid severe affordability and housing pressures. Nunavut is not a province: its surveys, GDP basis and fiscal arrangements differ.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The Auditor General reports that the government committed to building 3,000 homes by 2030, including 1,400 public housing units, and found that the Nunavut Housing Corporation did not know whether publicly funded units were being allocated to the applicants with the greatest need.

Evidence: Office of the Auditor General of Canada: The government must act to provide Nunavummiut with access to suitable public housing

CMHC reports that nearly half of Nunavut Housing Corporation households were living in overcrowded conditions in January 2025, that new residential construction there remained overwhelmingly social housing, and that Iqaluit's rental vacancy rate stayed at 0.3% for a third year.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The territory's finance department says tight housing does much to discourage workers from entering or staying in the workforce.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The federal government announced in July 2026 that at least 750 new housing units will be built across Nunavut, with 425 public housing units among them.

Evidence: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada: Canada and Nunavut partner to build essential infrastructure and more homes

The federal Major Projects Office describes the proposed Grays Bay Road and Port as an all-season road of about 230 kilometres to a deepwater port, with a process towards possible listing under the Building Canada Act begun on June 24, 2026; it is not a designated project.

Evidence: Government of Canada, Major Projects Office: Grays Bay Road and Port

CMHC says that in Nunavut effects of tariffs should track national trends with greater sensitivity because of less economic diversification, and that utility costs are higher in the North, partly because of isolated grids and reliance on diesel generation.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The territory's finance department says Baffinland's planned railway to a new port would be one of the largest industrial infrastructure projects in northern Canada's history if it proceeds, and that provision of public services is more costly than in the rest of Canada because of climate, remoteness and a small, monopolistic commercial market.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The territory forecasts revenues of 3,503 million dollars in 2026-27, of which federal transfers are 2,468 million dollars, with expenses up 12% producing a significant deficit, and says the federal government limits borrowing to 1.05 billion dollars.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: 2026-27 Budget Highlights

The federal government says the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement was signed on January 18, 2024, with the transfer of responsibilities to be completed by April 1, 2027, from which the territory will receive royalties on public lands. These are the publishers' figures and forecasts, not Northline's. The Nunavut Bureau of Statistics' releases, Statistics Canada's GDP and population estimates (release calendar) and Baffinland's financial position show how the outlook is resolved.

Evidence: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Nunavut devolution

The Government of Nunavut forecasts an operational deficit of 169 million dollars in 2026-27, assuming the money set aside for contingencies is fully spent; as of March 31, 2026, total borrowing stood at 303 million dollars, mostly capital leases, the Qulliq Energy Corporation and the Iqaluit airport. The Government of Canada limits that borrowing to 1.05 billion dollars, leaving 747 million dollars of room.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: 2026-27 Budget Highlights

The territory's finance department says federal transfers, led by Territorial Formula Financing of 2,347.9 million dollars in 2026-27, together make up 70 per cent of revenues, against around 36 per cent in New Brunswick and 16 per cent in British Columbia, because territories with small economies and narrow tax bases are not able to raise sufficient revenue on their own to provide public services comparable to elsewhere in Canada.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

Finance Canada says each territory's grant is the gap between a proxy of its expenditure needs and its capacity to raise revenue, that 30 per cent of measured revenue capacity is excluded to reward territories that grow their own revenues, and that natural resource revenues are not part of eligible revenues for these calculations. This is the territorial arrangement; provinces are instead equalized.

Evidence: Department of Finance Canada: Territorial Formula Financing

The finance department reports that interest takes under 1 per cent of revenue, against 6 per cent for provinces and territories as a group, and that in March 2026 the government received an AA rating with a stable trend from DBRS Morningstar, an upgrade from AA low. These are the government's own reports of the rating, not the agency's, and the same document's comparison table prints a different grade.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The federal government says the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement was signed in January 2024 and that the territory will receive royalties on public lands once responsibilities are transferred.

Evidence: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Nunavut devolution

The finance department reports that the capital plan approved for 2026-27 is 373.2 million dollars in projects for the first year, with 2,038.7 million dollars proposed over the five years to 2030-31 and 56 projects under construction, up from 48. It names ongoing labour shortages in skilled trades and inflationary pressures as continuing to delay and raise the cost of capital projects.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The budget address says the Nunavut Housing Corporation's operating budget rises to approximately 296 million dollars and that 87.2 million dollars is provided in housing capital investments this year.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Premier and Minister of Finance: 2026-2027 Budget Address

The federal government announced in July 2026 that at least 750 new housing units will be built across Nunavut, so these homes depend on federal funding alongside the territory's own.

Evidence: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada: Canada and Nunavut partner to build essential infrastructure and more homes

The finance department says a lack of physical assets is one of the territory's chief barriers to further investment and growth, and that total capital spending in the territory, public and private, was 1,661 million dollars in 2024. It says Qulliq Energy Corporation and a subsidiary of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association signed an MOU on a possible hydro project of 15 to 30 megawatts outside Iqaluit; the project is potential, not committed.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The Canada Energy Regulator says the Qulliq Energy Corporation operates 25 diesel plants in 25 communities, that there are no regional or territorial electricity grids, and that almost all electricity comes from diesel fuel imported in summer and stored for the year.

Evidence: Canada Energy Regulator: Provincial and territorial energy profiles: Nunavut

The finance department says that Baffinland's expansion would raise annual output at Mary River from 4.2 million to 22 million tonnes, but only subject to financing and logistics and at a time when the company was seeking creditor protection.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The Major Projects Office describes the proposed Grays Bay Road and Port as an all-season road of about 230 kilometres delivered through West Kitikmeot Resources Corporation, a partnership of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and private investors, with federal funding announced for planning and preconstruction; it is not a designated project.

Evidence: Government of Canada, Major Projects Office: Grays Bay Road and Port

CMHC says that in Nunavut the effects of tariffs should track national trends, with greater sensitivity because of less economic diversification.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The finance department reports that after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down emergency tariffs in February 2026 the White House implemented a global 10 per cent tariff alongside sectoral tariffs including 50 per cent on steel and aluminum, and that mining now accounts for almost half of the economy.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

The finance department reports that unemployment rose to over 10 per cent in 2025 (nationally 6.8 per cent), that participation was 60 per cent against 65 per cent Canada-wide, and that the employment rate was unchanged at 54 per cent against 61 per cent nationally. It says tight housing conditions do much to discourage workers from entering or staying in the workforce.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

It also reports a wage premium of 58 per cent over a national average of $1,126 a week, which it attributes to a growing economy, a shortage of skilled labour and the high cost of living in the north. Statistics Canada's monthly earnings series averaged C$1,330 a week a week nationally over the latest twelve months, against C$1,854 a week in Nunavut, which implies a smaller premium; the department does not define its national figure. It says each worker produced roughly $180,000 of GDP in 2024 and that output per hour worked is about 1.4 times the national average, names the territory's mineral wealth as much of the reason, and warns that productivity depends on capital investment rather than worker skill.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

It estimates fly-in, fly-out workers at almost 7,400 in 2025, and annual migration at a net loss of 255.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

CMHC says that Nunavut continued to lose working-age residents to other parts of Canada amid severe affordability and housing pressures, and that the Iqaluit vacancy rate stayed at 0.3 per cent for a third year.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The Auditor General reports that the government committed to building 3,000 homes by 2030, including 1,400 public housing units, and that the Nunavut Housing Corporation did not know whether units were going to the applicants with the greatest need.

Evidence: Office of the Auditor General of Canada: The government must act to provide Nunavummiut with access to suitable public housing

The finance department says the first credit rating, issued in August 2012 by Moody's, was Aa1, and that DBRS Morningstar first issued its grade in December 2018 and confirmed it each year, until the March 2026 upgrade.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

Statistics Canada reported in May 2026 that the Northwest Territories was the only jurisdiction where GDP declined in 2025, a second consecutive year, though its revised series now shows a small rise in 2024, while Nunavut's mining fell as iron ore declined but construction rose on a new gold mine and the Whale Cove rebuild.

Evidence: Statistics Canada: The Daily: Gross domestic product by industry: Provinces and territories, 2025

Job Bank says the Northwest Territories' economy contracted in 2025 on reduced diamond production, with the Diavik mine closing in March 2026, that Yukon's contracted after the Eagle Gold Mine closed (Statistics Canada's revised accounts of 5 November 2026 say instead that GDP rose in Yukon in 2025), and that Nunavut was the only territory whose unemployment rate rose, to the highest in Canada. It also says net interprovincial migration was negative in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut over five years, but positive in Yukon. Job Bank counts four operating gold mines in Nunavut, while the territory's finance department counts two operating gold mines with one in redevelopment; the counts are not reconciled.

Evidence: Employment and Social Development Canada (Job Bank): Economic Scan - Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 2026; Statistics Canada: The Daily: Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2025

Finance Canada says Territorial Formula Financing is the largest federal transfer to the three territorial governments and recognizes the high cost of providing public services in the North.

Evidence: Department of Finance Canada: Territorial Formula Financing

Job Bank says Nunavut has the youngest population in Canada, with a median age of 27.1 years.

Evidence: Employment and Social Development Canada (Job Bank): Economic Scan - Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 2026

The finance department names financial trouble at Baffinland, owner of the Mary River iron mine, as a downside risk to its forecast of GDP growth of over 11 per cent in 2026; a private forecaster cited by Job Bank puts it lower, and the forecasts are not reconciled.

Evidence: Government of Nunavut, Department of Finance: Budget 2026-27 Fiscal and Economic Indicators

CMHC says utility costs are higher in the North, partly because of isolated grids and reliance on diesel generation.

Evidence: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Northern Housing Report

The federal government says the transfer of responsibilities is to be completed by April 1, 2027. The Nunavut Public Accounts for 2026-27, Baffinland's financing outcome, the Major Projects Office decision on Grays Bay, the royalty estimates once devolution is complete and Statistics Canada's territorial export data show how these questions are resolved. These are the publishers' figures and forecasts, not Northline's.

Evidence: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Nunavut devolution