A Canadian Armed Forces annual Arctic exercise is underway in Nunavut

Operation Nanook-Nunakput takes place in and around Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay and Qikiqtarjuaq.

By Nunatsiaq News August 16, 2022
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Some of the nearly 500 Canadian Armed Forces personnel participating in Operation Nanook in Rankin Inlet in 2019. (Jérôme J.X. Lessard / Canadian Department of National Defense)

The Canadian Armed Forces is training in and around several Nunavut communities for the rest of this month as part of Operation Nanook-Nunakput.

Military exercises will be occurring near Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay and Qikiqtarjuaq. People in these communities might notice Canadian Armed Forces ships off the coast, according to a public service announcement from the Department of Community and Government Services.

Operation Nanook-Nunakput, the armed forces’ northern operation, aims to provide training, develop partnerships with Indigenous communities and improve the military’s ability to operate in various Arctic conditions.

The operation was launched in 2007 and takes place annually with a major exercise in the North.

Exercises in previous years have included responding to simulated air disasters and wildfire evacuations.

Operation Nanook-Nunakput runs from Aug. 15 to 29.