The push to get the world’s largest land use plan in Nunavut signed amid mining rush

It’s been nearly two decades since work began on the Nunavut land use plan, but there’s still no word on when it’ll be signed. As that process drags on, some Nunavummiut are nervous about the damage being done to their lands.

The 129-page document, released in June 2023, is the largest plan of its kind in the world, covering one fifth of Canada's land mass. 

Nunavut is a resource-rich territory, and there’s a strong desire to capitalize on that. In a keynote speech in September 2025, then-premier P.J. Akeeagok said the territory holds 23 of Canada’s 34 listed critical minerals, and it's a "matter of national security" as "supply chains shift and tensions rise" around the world.

But respecting the environment, the land, and Inuit rights are also in the very essence of the territory, and they are enshrined in law through the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement. 

“Nunavut is one of the last frontiers of the world…. Money is good but money cannot do everything,” says James Eetoolook, president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

“We have a lot of minerals in the Kitikmeot too and we have to be very careful how we approve these to be extracted by the industry.”

That’s where the land use plan comes in. It sets out which areas of the territory are open for development and which are protected. It also tells developers where projects, like mines, will be allowed and under what conditions. 

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the territorial and federal governments need to sign the plan before it becomes legally binding.

The plan is a central piece to Canada handing over control over Nunavut’s land and resources to the territorial government. The process, known as devolution, is slated to take effect from April 1, 2027. 

Rebecca Chartrand, the federal northern affairs minister, says devolution and the land use plan are still set to proceed as scheduled. As for the delays in the approval of the plan, she says Ottawa will move “when the partners are ready to move”.

“We know there's been a transition with a new [territorial] government … so our conversations are ongoing.”

Nunavut’s environment minister, Brian Koonoo, says the signatories still need to work out how to ensure the plan recognizes and affirms existing treaty rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act. 

“The government is taking steps to [consider] Section 35 rights holders, whose rights may be affected by the plan,” he says. “But it’s been the closest it’s ever been to a decision.”

NTI declined to comment while the review of the plan continues.