Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal on Nov. 8 announced $7 million in new funding to help advance the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link.
The new funding will be coming from the federal Northern REACHE Program, which was established to help build renewable energy capacity and efficiency projects in all three territories, as well as Nunavik and Nunatsiavut.
“The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link aspires to bring clean, secure and affordable energy and broadband internet service to the Kivalliq Region,” Vandal said while visiting Iqaluit.
If completed, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link will be Nunavut’s first infrastructure link to the rest of Canada, connecting the Kivalliq region to Manitoba’s fibre-optic network and hydroelectric grid.
“The legacy of diesel infrastructure in our communities harms our environment and impacts our lands, wildlife, and waters each and every day,” said Kono Tattuinee, president of the Kivalliq Inuit Association.
Anne-Raphaelle Audouin, CEO of the Nukik Corporation, one of the proponents of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, added, “The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link is a nation-building, inter-tie project that directly and tangibly answers national and regional commitments to take climate action, walk the talk on reconciliation and build a resilient, pan-Canadian grid that will enable Nunavut to one day send renewable energy back to the North American network.”
The Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link proposes a new 1,200 kilometre transmission line from Gillam, Man., to the Kivalliq, linking five communities and two gold mines to help transition away from diesel power plants and to save the region money.
The estimated cost to build the entire project was estimated at $1.6 billion in 2020.