TALOYOAK, Nunavut — For almost 20 years, Karen Nanook has shared a single bedroom with her adult daughter inside her elderly parents’ three-bedroom home in Taloyoak. Including Nanook’s brother, five people live there in a house Nanook describes as cramped and covered in mould.
Two decades on the waitlist
Nanook has been on Taloyoak’s public housing waitlist for roughly two decades. She says her position on the list has never advanced past third place in the community. The long delay has worn on the family’s mental health and daily life.
“It’s like living in a tiny box. Our mattresses are almost touching and there's no privacy in the home,” Nanook said.
At times she stopped keeping her application up to date, saying the effort felt futile. “What's the use in trying when nothing's being changed,” she told reporters.
Demand outstrips supply
The situation in Taloyoak reflects a larger problem across Nunavut. The Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) oversees local housing organizations that manage just over 6,000 public housing units in the territory. According to figures provided by Taloyoak's Member of the Legislative Assembly and minister responsible for NHC, roughly 120 people are on Taloyoak’s local waitlist. The community is home to about 1,000 residents and has just over 200 public housing units.
Across Nunavut, the waitlist totals just over 3,700 people. A 2025 auditor general of Canada report found the average wait time in the territory was 4.5 years.
| Location | Population (approx.) | Public housing units | People on waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taloyoak | ~1,000 | Just over 200 | ~120 |
| Nunavut (territory-wide) | — | ~6,000 | ~3,700 |
Overcrowding, mould and mental-health strain
Nanook’s description of her family’s living conditions — mattresses almost touching, no privacy and mould — illustrates how housing shortages translate into health and social problems. Overcrowding can exacerbate respiratory and skin conditions, accelerate the spread of infectious disease, and increase stress and family tension, especially when multiple generations are forced into inadequate housing.
Nanook said the prolonged uncertainty has exacted a psychological toll on her family. The sense that applications do not advance and housing options do not materialize leaves many feeling powerless and exhausted.
Local context and pressures
Taloyoak is a small hamlet with a tight-knit population. Limited local housing stock, high building costs, logistics of construction in the High Arctic and competing needs for repairs, maintenance and new builds all factor into how quickly public housing needs can be met.
The NHC provides funding and oversight to community housing organizations that manage the units, but the backlog and reported average wait times point to a structural challenge across communities.
What this means for young families and vulnerable residents
Long waits reduce options for families who wish to establish independent households, constrain choices for elderly residents needing accessible accommodations and limit opportunities for people seeking to escape unhealthy living situations. For young people and families in small communities, a single additional housing opportunity can mean access to schooling, employment or improved health.
Immediate realities and next steps
For people like Nanook, the everyday reality is what matters most: a safe, dry place to sleep and privacy for family members. While territorial and federal reviews and funding decisions shape the longer-term response, locals must continue to manage overcrowding, mould remediation and the emotional strain of prolonged waits.
- Roughly 3,700 people are on the territory-wide public housing waitlist.
- Taloyoak has about 120 people waiting and just over 200 public housing units.
- The average wait time in Nunavut was 4.5 years according to a 2025 auditor general report.
Nanook’s story is one of many across Nunavut that underline the need for continued attention to housing supply, maintenance and equitable allocation of units. For now, she remains in the house where she grew up, sharing a room with her daughter and hoping one day that the waitlist will move fast enough to give her family the space they need.
Reporting from Taloyoak.
