21-04-2025
Chilly Iqaluit warms to its place as star of Netflix series North Of The North
Residents of the remote northern Canadian city of Iqaluit have spoken of their pride after being featured in the hit Netflix series North Of The North.
The capital of Nunavut territory, the town of 8,000 people has no roads in and out, and temperatures can plunge to -49F.
But the mostly Inuit population are thrilled to show off their 'open and accepting' lifestyle and their renowned sense of humor. 'The whole territory is so proud of this,' said Charlotte Dewolff, who runs a theater where the show premiered.
The show follows a young woman and mother who is reinventing herself while living in her the fictional town of Ice Cove in Nunavut.
'It's a small community,' Dewolff, who owns Astro Theatre, said of Iqaluit.
'Everybody seems to know everybody.
'It's a good place to raise a family,' she continued. 'I really like the people... [And] I don't mind cold weather.'
Dewolff lived in Iqaluit from 1999 to 2020 after relocating for work reasons.
And although she does have some Arctic Indigenous heritage, she didn't know that when she lived there.
'The Inuit are very open and accepting,' Dewolff, who still has an apartment in the town, said, adding they have a 'friendliness' to them and a 'good sense of humor.'
She believes Netflix has portrayed the community correctly - or at least their sense of humor.
'I think that it was,' she said. 'I identified with some of it.'
Though isolated, Iqaluit offers swimming, hockey, soccer, dancing, and a fitness center - not to mention the Astro Theatre, which screens major movies as well as those made by Inuit creatives.
'You're five minutes away from anything,' adds Dewolff, who still visits regularly.
She said the only downside to the remote city is the brittle cold, though it doesn't get a terrible amount of snow or wind.
'It's a dry cold,' Dewolff said, adding the town is often described as an 'Arctic desert.'
Another setback is travel: Iqaluit is only accessible by air, and fares can be steep.
A ticket to fly from Calgary in Alberta, where Dewolff now lives, to Iqaluit can run upwards of $1,500 - and there are rarely direct flights. The cost of traveling from Canada's capital, Ottawa, and other parts of Ontario are similarly expensive.
'The whole territory is so proud of this,' Dewolff said of the Netflix show, on which many locals worked as extras. 'The whole community supports it.'
Series creator Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, who lives in Iqaluit, told Broadview: 'Our town is fictional, and we chose that consciously because we wanted to be able to take the best parts of small, tiny towns and the best parts of Iqaluit, the big city.
'And something we love about living in Iqaluit is that it really is a diverse community,' she continued.
'We wanted our fictional town to have that vibe where there's Inuit from the Western Arctic, Inuit from the Eastern Arctic.'
The stunning region is full of snowcapped mountains and large stretches of barren land, only interrupted by small villages of brightly colored homes, and the show's creators were eager to show off its charms during filming between March and June last year.
'The community loves to do it,' Dewolff said. 'We love to host [film crews].'
'They love to see their culture on the screen.'
Several local places appear throughout the show, including the curling club and the Discovery Hotel.
Even the main character's home can be found at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Tundra Valley neighborhood of the city, according to The Nunatsiaq News.
The city, on Baffin Island, gained prominence in 1999 when it became the capital of the new territory of Nunavut following a referendum a year earlier.
This gave the Inuit control over their community and institutions.
After being named the capital, Iqaluit's population swelled from 3,000 to roughly 8,000 today, much of it driven by public servants.
'It's a government town,' Dewolff noted.
And although the majority of residents are Inuit, many arrive from southern Canada, mainly to fill government jobs.
Dewolff has watched the area grow and is proud of its achievements.
