Defying the test of time, the Iqaluit Facebook community is strong, active, and growing. Whether we’re looking for business closure updates or household rummage sales, Iqaluit Facebook pages have the answer. New people are often surprised when they’re told to “get Facebook” as part of their transition to the North (just after “get a Costco membership” and “bring me booze”); the fact is, it’s pretty hard to keep up with the town if you’re not online. So, here, in no particular order, are eleven Iqaluit Facebook pages we think you should like.
Iqaluit Sell/Swap
With over 15,000 members (twice the population of Iqaluit), Iqaluit Sell/Swap is one of our most active Facebook pages. It’s so popular, people will often request to join the site even before moving to Iqaluit. Why? Because it is the best place in town to purchase almost anything, fast. It’s basically a classifieds site, where people can post items for sale or search for items they want to purchase. The main difference is that Sell/Swap has no categorization, so every single item is listed on the wall, and posts with recent activity (comments or likes) are bumped to the top. So how do you find what you’re looking for? Well, you scroll and scan, or try to use Facebook’s shabby search function.
Despite this flaw, attempts to overthrow Iqaluit Sell/Swap with more efficient online classified sites like Kijiji or Craigslist have been unsuccessful (spin-off sites like Iqaluit Snowmobile and Hunting Equipment and Iqaluit Furniture and Appliances also exist, but aren’t as well used). Perhaps it’s because though cumbersome, the group has its charms. Without any department stores or malls, Iqaluit Sell/Swap gives us an opportunity to window shop: you can scroll without planning to buy anything when boom, someone has storage baskets for sale and you’re the first one to comment. Besides, if we were to categorize Sell/Swap posts, where would we list this?
Iqaluit Public Service Announcements
Iqaluit Public Service Announcements (Iqaluit PSA for short) is by far the best place to find out what is happening in the city. From events to municipal announcements to news, everyone from public service workers to individuals post their news and information on this page. In fact, this is where Finding True North broke the story of Polarman’s permanent departure from Iqaluit.
Iqaluit Auction Bids
Similar to Sell/Swap in that it allows sellers to post their wares online, except Iqaluit Auction Bids only allows homemade products or the “tools to make the product(s)” on its page. Buyers must bid on the craft items until the set auction end time, when the seller will announce the winner. A great place to purchase artisan items; no wonder the page has over 22,000 members!
Iqaluit House Sitters & Couch Surfers
If you’re looking for a room to rent, this is the place to post. Would-be tenants and landlords join the Iqaluit House Sitters & Couch Surfers page to seek each other out. And, as the name suggests, it’s also where people go to find house sitting gigs. House sitting is actually a popular option in town, to offset the high cost of rent and the difficulty finding housing. Check out our post on house hunting in Iqaluit for more details.
Legion Line-Up – Iqaluit
This page encourages its members to post photos or statuses indicating the length of the Legion line upon their arrival or exit from Iqaluit’s favourite late-night spot. A relatively new addition to the Iqaluit Facebook page family, the Legion Line-Up page has the potential to be very useful to party-going Iqalummiut, if/when more people join the group and begin using it as intended. Or could someone can go ahead and make a Legion line up app already?
Iqaluit Photos
Populated by Andrew Tagak Jr. and Kaleigh Tagak, Iqaluit Photos has, in our opinion, some of the most beautiful, up-to-date, and creative photos of Iqaluit on Facebook. From the northern lights to community events, from timelapse videos to wildlife, the page is full of reasons to love living in Iqaluit.
City of Iqaluit
The City’s official Facebook page not only lists City business and public service announcements, but also regularly posts job opportunities. It’s also a great place to check out if you’re looking to get more involved, as City staff will advertise opportunities to give feedback or take part in community consultations.
Government of Nunavut
The Government of Nunavut’s official Facebook page, known in the winter as the “Building Closure Due to Weather” announcement page.
Nunatsiaq News
If you want to keep up with Northern news and stories, you need to follow Nunatsiaq News. The award-winning paper publishes content regularly online (and once a week in print), focusing on Arctic issues, events, and people. Nunatsiaq also shares reader-submitted photos from across the territory and Inuit Nunangat on its Facebook page, giving its followers a glimpse into Northern life well beyond the borders of the capital city.
CBC Nunavut
Like Nunatsiaq News, CBC’s Nunavut Facebook page is a great place to find photos, videos, stories, and information. It’s regularly updated and reiterates many of the news items covered on local CBC radio and TV, both of which are very popular in Nunavut. You can also check out the CBC’s Nunavut news topic page, which has a filter that selects for Nunavut news stories.
and of course…
Finding True North Blog
You didn’t think we’d leave ourselves off the list, did you? Our Facebook page is the first place to find out about our latest posts, as well as the spot where we share behind-the-scenes photos, relevant news and information, and stuff we find on the Internet.
What do you think of our Iqaluit Facebook page round-up? Are there any pages we missed? Let us know in the comments, or better yet – on Facebook!
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Trying to get set up on Iqaluit sell/swap, but it won’t let me past the request part. How do you actually get accepted so you can see tte posts? Figured you guys hosting info on these sites would have the best answer for me. Thx
Hiya Rick. The admin on the Sell/Swap site has to approve your request, and that’s the only way into the group. Have you tried to message the page or one of the admins?