Agnico Eagle Mines is backing an Inuit-led project proposal to plug Nunavut’s Kivalliq region into Manitoba’s hydroelectric grid and fibre-optic network. The miner has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Nukik Corp.—a 100 per cent Inuit-owned company majority-held by the Kivalliq Inuit Association—to help advance the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link (KHFL), a transmission-and-telecom corridor that would bring reliable energy and high-speed connectivity to Arctic communities. 

The roughly 1,200-kilometre corridor will be designed to deliver up to 150 megawatts of electricity and expand broadband service from northern Manitoba to five Kivalliq communities—Arviat, Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake—as well as Agnico Eagle’s mining operations at the Meliadine gold mine.  

The KHFL is intended to cut dependence on imported fuel by delivering a cleaner power option and to provide 1,200 gigabits per second in fibre-optic capacity.    

For Agnico, the project represents a significant opportunity to reduce Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions at the Meliadine mine, which relies on diesel fuel for mobile equipment and on-site electricity generation. In 2024, the mine consumed 2.1 million gigajoules in diesel-generated energy. 

“As our company is working towards our net-zero ambition, the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link could significantly contribute to our decarbonization efforts,” Gabriel-Antoine Côté, manager of public affairs for Nunavut at Agnico Eagle, wrote in an emailed statement to CIM Magazine. “It would provide a reliable and sustainable source of electricity that would reduce our reliance on diesel and help significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” 

The KHFL also stands to sharply reduce the Kivalliq region’s reliance on diesel, which totals about 138 million litres of diesel each year. 

“Our numbers show that there would be a displacement of at least half of that, but it all depends on if there's more mining activity that will be taking place,” Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin, CEO of Nukik, said in an interview with CIM Magazine. The project is also expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 371,000 tonnes annually. 

According to Agnico, the KHFL also has the potential to remove barriers to expanding energy capacity to meet the needs of a growing mining industry and a broader northern economy. 

Côté said the project “would support long-term regional development, Inuit self-determination, environmental stewardship and enhanced energy reliability for Nunavut communities and industry.” 

The MOU formalizes years of technical work and planning between Agnico Eagle and Nukik and reflects increasing federal and provincial government backing for an Inuit-led solution to Nunavut’s infrastructure gap. 

In a press release, Agnico Eagle and Nukik said they have agreed to advance technical studies, commercial discussions and capacity-building initiatives for the project. In November, Nukik filed a transmission service request with Manitoba Hydro, a step that launches the technical and commercial studies needed to evaluate and secure access to Manitoba’s transmission grid. 

“We are hoping to put the shovel in the ground in 2028, and then construction would last four years for an in-service target date of 2032,” Audoin said.   

The project, according to Audoin, could add $3.2 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product during construction alone and is expected to create over 15,000 person-years of employment across the country, with long-term opportunities in operations and maintenance. 

In April, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and then–Nunavut premier P.J. Akeeagok agreed to collaborate on advancing the project. Manitoba Hydro has earmarked 50 megawatts in its planning, and the two leaders urged Ottawa to provide further funding for the project and related hydroelectric upgrades. 

Nikuk has already received $11.6 million from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency to support early planning and feasibility work. In 2024, an additional $2.8 million was provided through Canada’s Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity program to advance the project. 

The project has been repeatedly highlighted in recent federal budgets as a national priority. However, the critical funding needed to advance the next phase has not materialized, and Nukik is now preparing to seek consideration by Ottawa’s Major Projects Office. 

"A project of this size in the Arctic really can't happen without the partnership of the federal government,” Audoin said.