Grise Fiord, Nunavut

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Map showing the location of Grise Fiord

The Inuit settlement of Grise Fiord, in the territory of Nunavut, is the northernmost civilian settlement in Canada. It is located at the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, and is one of three permanent settlements on the island. Grise Fiord lies 720 miles above the Arctic Circle. Grise Fiord was eclipsed by Alert as the world's northernmost community when Environment Canada and the Canadian Forces began to station permanent personnel there.

Population is 163 according to the 2001 Census.

Grise Fiord's Inuit name is "Aujuittuq" which means "place that never thaws." Grise Fiord means "pig inlet" in Norwegian. The settlement was created by the Canadian government in the 1950s to assert sovereignty in the area. Inuit families from northern Quebec were relocated and promised homes and game to hunt, but the relocated people discovered no buildings and very little familiar wildlife. They also had to endure weeks of daytime darkness in the winter and sunlight in the nights during summers, unlike northern Quebec. In 1970, Bell Canada established what was then the world's most northerly telephone exchange (operated since 1992 by Northwestel).

The climate in Grise Fiord is extremely cold. The lowest recorded temperature in Grise Fiord was -62.2 C. The highest was 22.3 C

Grise Fiord is served by Grise Fiord Airport.

Other settlements on Ellesmere Island are Alert and Eureka.