Home is where the heart is.
And that means don't be looking for Whale Cove Mayor and wildlife officer, Oliver Shipton, his partner and their six-year-old-son, Aati, to be calling anywhere other than Whale Cove home for the foreseeable future.
Shipton, 27, originally from Huntsville, Ont., has been in Whale Cove for the past five years and had never lived in an isolated, fly-in community with a population less than 1,000 before.
His partner, Mikka Komaksiutiksak, was born and raised in Whale Cove. She moved south to Ottawa with her family when she was 12, but returned to Whale Cove this past year.
Shipton said he couldn't see the community when approaching Whale Cove for the first time. He said he remembers seeing nothing but land and the tiny sea can of a terminal at the time when he first landed in the Kivalliq community.
"I remember when I first got there, the first few questions I was asked were how long are you here for?" said Shipton. "It turns out that was because I was the new wildlife officer and they hadn't had anyone stay here for longer than eight months.
"When I first came into town, I was given a ride around the community. While we drove around the town, it was just new and different. It's a different way of life and a different way of living. You see all these houses hooked up to fuel tanks and it's all trucked water and sewage.
"It's a small community, but, in my mind, I still got lost. It was all really new to me and it took me a bit to get used to everything."
Shipton said when he first went out on the land, it was just so beautiful that the Nunavut nuna had him a little awestruck at first.
"I arrived here in the fall, in October, and it was all just so beautiful.
"I wouldn't call it gearing down when you're adapting to life here. I'd call it actually living. The reason I say that is — and this is why I fell in love with this place — in a city down south or a bigger town, you have everything you want and need at your fingertips. Everything is accessible, so it's pretty peachy in the south.
"Then, you move up here, and now you're working for stuff. You want meat on the table and you don't want to spend a fortune at the grocery store, then you're hunting. You're learning new things. You're always doing stuff. If you need something, you work for it or you build it. If something breaks, you figure out ways to fix it without replacing the part because you don't always have that opportunity.
"I find the way of life more appealing up here. I feel less useless than down south. There's a big difference here and I love it. This is home to me now. This is where my partner and my life is. Our son says he loves it here more than Ottawa. Once you integrate and realize how great this place is, you're hooked. I don't see myself moving anywhere else any time soon — that's for sure."
