A Northern Light

Everyone expected it to happen at some point. But when it did, it hit with a heavy, frightening thud. Throughout April, even a good six weeks into the pandemic, Nunavut remained the only jurisdiction in Canada without any COVID-19 infections. Then, on April 29, someone tested positive in Pond Inlet, a community of about 1,600 on the northern tip of Baffin Island. There’s no need to panic, officials said. But many reacted on social media that day with “Fuck.” Nobody wants the coronavirus, but Nunavut, of all places, could really do without it.

Though the virus had already devastated regions around the world, there was a heightened sense of panic when it reached Nunavut. There is so much at stake. Many of the more than 38,000 people who inhabit the territory are members of large, extended families and kinship groups. A shortage of housing means they often live in overcrowded homes. In...