March 22, 2024 – Canada’s minister of Northern Affairs, CanNor and PrairiesCan, Hon. Dan Vandal, announced Nukik Corporation will be receiving an additional $2.8 million from the Northern REACHE program to advance the Kivalliq Hydro-Fiber Link project.

“Nunavut needs energy and connectivity optionality, and this additional funding from the Northern REACHE program will allow important development activities to proceed and get the project closer to financial close,” said Nukik’s CEO Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin.

Nukik is the 100% Inuit-owned proponent of the KHFL: a 1200-km transmission project that seeks to connect Nunavut’s Kivalliq region to Manitoba’s electricity grid, near Churchill.

The project will be Nunavut’s first infrastructure connection to the North American grid, in fact, helping the communities of Arviat, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Whale Cove transition away from diesel (some 138 million litres annually) for heat and electricity.

Nukik has formally partnered with the Town of Churchill and Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) to advance work on the energy and internet corridor.

“Partnerships allow us to address big challenges,” said David Kakuktinniq, president, Nukik. “We look forward to working closely with AGG and the Town of Churchill to address our infrastructure deficits through our shared vision to develop the Kivalliq Hydro-Fiber Link as a crucial nation-building project […]”

The next phase of the project includes engineering, design, and environmental fieldwork that is necessary to move forward.

“Critical mineral and natural resource sector companies have expressed interest in renewable power and economic development opportunities in the Churchill and Kivalliq region,” said Michael Woelcke, CEO, Arctic Gateway Group. “Building reliable infrastructure and strengthening existing transmission connections is imperative […]”

Prior to this latest announcement, the Government of Canada—through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNAC) and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency—provided $11.6 million in funding to support the earlier planning and feasibility phase of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fiber Link project.

Construction is expected to begin by 2028.