About High Arctic Haulers

Each summer, as the Arctic ice begins to recede, ships loaded with critical cargo leave Montreal, slicing through dangerous, ice-laden waters, navigating treacherous tides. This sealift brings items as large as new power plants and trucks to smaller essentials such as diapers and food staples.

There are no docks in these communities, so the precious cargo is pushed ashore by tug and barge — a challenging unloading process, with the crew racing the falling light and tides. These supplies are essential and a missed delivery is not an option.

High Arctic Haulers features culturally rich and diverse communities; people who choose to live in some of the harshest conditions in the world.  

From Grise Fiord to Gjoa Haven, Pangnirtung to Naujaat, we meet some of the proud and resilient northerners who have been carving out an existence in the Arctic for generations: hunters and carvers, teachers and store managers, parents and elders, kids making their first kayak, or carving open a fetal pig in biology class for the first time, all thanks to supplies brought up by this year's sealift.

The relationship between the sealift crew and community members is integral to a successful and productive life in the far north. This is the world of High Arctic Haulers—a diverse, breathtaking landscape brimming with resilient, vibrant communities and the hardy, determined men and women who help provide a lifeline.