Quaqtaq

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that people have occupied the area around Quaqtaq for about 3500 years. Thule people, the ancestors of today's Inuit, arrived around 1400 or 1500 AD.

In 1947, a Roman Catholic mission opened in Quaqtaq. The present-day settlement was established after a trading post first established in 1927 at Iggiajaaq, a few kilometres south-west, was finally closed in 1950. After a measles epidemic killed 11 adults in 1952, the Canadian government began delivering basic services to the community. A nursing station was built in 1963. In the 1960s, the Quebec government opened a store and a post office equipped with a radio-telephone. In 1974, the store became a co-operative and, in 1978, Quaqtaq was legally established as a Northern village.

In 1996, the Kativik Regional Police Force was created in Nunavik, and became responsible for policing Quaqtaq. In 2021, the KRPF changed its name to the Nunavik Police Service.

Climate

Quaqtaq is located on the coast of Ungava Bay. Due to the influence of cold currents, the temperature in Nunavik is much lower than other areas at the same latitude. The climate of Quaqtaq is a typical tundra climate (Köppen: ET), because the average temperature in the warmest months of July and August is only 6.3 C. Contrariwise, the hottest month in most other areas at similar latitudes is much higher. For examples Anchorage's warmest month averages 15.3 C and Bergen's 15.6 C, whilst inland Yakutsk reaches 19.9 C. |Jan record high C = 1.9 |Feb record high C = 1.5 |Mar record high C = 1.0 |Apr record high C = 2.7 |May record high C = 8.1 |Jun record high C = 22.8 |Jul record high C = 26.1 |Aug record high C = 24.5 |Sep record high C = 15.1 |Oct record high C = 9.2 |Nov record high C = 5.0 |Dec record high C = 1.7 |Jan record low C = -39.4 |Feb record low C = -42.8 |Mar record low C = -39.7 |Apr record low C = -34.0 |May record low C = -23.9 |Jun record low C = -7.8 |Jul record low C = -2.6 |Aug record low C = -3.4 |Sep record low C = -6.5 |Oct record low C = -17.0 |Nov record low C = -29.6 |Dec record low C = -43.9 |access-date = August 9, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230809040355/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-2-1982.pdf |archive-date = 2023-08-09}} |access-date = August 9, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230809040402/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-3-1982.pdf |archive-date = 2023-08-09}}{{cite web |access-date=August 9, 2023}}

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Quaqtaq had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 25.82 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Population trend:

• Population in 2021: 453 (2016 to 2021 population change: 12.4%)
• Population in 2016: 403
• Population in 2011: 376
• Population in 2006: 315
• Population in 2001: 305
• Population in 1996: 257
• Population in 1981: 150

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 144 (total dwellings: 173)

Education

The Kativik School Board operates the Isummasaqvik School.

People

Notable people from the community include musician Beatrice Deer and disgraced Inuit police officer Jaaji Okpik.

References

References

1. (8 February 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Quaqtaq, Village nordique [Census subdivision], Quebec and Nord-du-Québec, Census division [Census division], Quebec".
2. Dorais, Louis-Jacques. (1997). "Quaqtaq: Modernity and Identity in an Inuit Community". University of Toronto Press.
3. KRPF. "General Information".
4. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". [[Statistics Canada]].
5. Statistics Canada: [[Canada 1996 Census. 1996]], [[Canada 2001 Census. 2001]], [[Canada 2006 Census. 2006]], [[Canada 2011 Census. 2011]], [[Canada 2016 Census. 2016]], [[Canada 2021 Census. 2021]] census
6. "[http://www.kativik.qc.ca/our-schools/ Our Schools] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-09-15 ." [[Kativik School Board]]. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.)
7. (9 February 2022). "Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Quaqtaq, Village nordique (VN) [Census subdivision], Quebec".
8. {{mamrot. 99115
9. {{toponymie. 98666