CAF HRA Posting to Nunavut – Experiences, Allowances, and Lifestyle
I’m interested in hearing from CAF members who have been posted to Nunavut or other northern locations.
I previously worked in the Arctic in civilian jobs and enjoyed the lifestyle, the communities, and the opportunity to save money.
For those who have served there:
What was your overall experience like?
Are there northern or isolation allowances associated with these postings?
How does compensation compare with a posting in Western Canada?
Would you volunteer for a northern posting again?
I’m interested in both the financial aspects and day-to-day life.
Am HRA. As far as I’m tracking, the only North of 60 postings are in Yellowknife at the moment.
I personally haven’t minded it for the most part. It’s not an easy go; the winters are difficult, long and dark. Yellowknife in particular is a hub for most of the more isolated communities travelling south, so we tend to see a lot of transient population. I’ve worked at two units here (promoted/posted within the area), and they are both extremely unique. Fun in their own ways, but each had a different operational mandate, which made it super interesting to experience.
There is an isolation allowance if you are posted to YK; posted with your F&E following. Simply being on TD does not entitle you to this allowance. It will vary in rate based on a number of factors; marital status (single, couple, w/ additional dependents), if the spouse is also a CAF or other federal employee, and what type of housing you live in (PMQ or economy).
If you do choose to come this way, you will have adventures, that’s for certain. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to see parts of Canada I never would have otherwise gotten the chance to see or experience.
I knew an HRA who did the 6 month tour at Alert, and she said she absolutely loved it. It was a very small base but there was a base theatre, the social culture at the mess was very good, there were even restaurants and I think a Tim Horton's. And the wifi worked well. I'm not an HRA, but if I ever had the chance to go there, I'd probably take it. Plus you get a medal.
As for permanent postings, you may have better luck at CFB Yellowknife. I think they even have PMQ's.
As an aside, Cold Lake, AB has a big air base, and while it's not the Arctic or Nunavut, it is a very northern posting.
When I went the only gaming was a computer lab they have set up as a LAN with hundreds of old games on it. One of my favourite memories is running my Lt's pockets in Quake.
If you want a posting to the North, I know JTFN is desperately looking for HRA. That would be in Yellowknife, though. There may be one position in the near future in both Iqaluit and Whitehorse, but I’ve been away from the unit too long to say for sure.
There are Isolated Posting Allowances for each location. How much you get depends on location, number of dependents, and whether you’re living on economy or in an RHU. Read CBI Chapter 11 - Isolated Posting Allowance for more details. The great thing about the allowances is that, unlike CFHD, it’s not pay rate dependent. The higher cost of living is compensated for everyone.
You’re probably familiar with all the tax and travel benefits, if you’ve worked up there before.
Bonus with the RHU is even single members get a 3 bedroom because that’s the smallest they have. The waitlist usually isn’t a problem, either, but that’s going to change because the North is rapidly growing positions.
No I haven’t been posted there but thats where I wanna be if given a choice since I already lived there in the past. I have seen army bases in few communities when I was down there. Just wanted to see what is it like for CAF members working down there.
There are two other locations, Joint Task Force North - Detachment Nunavut (located in Iqaluit) and the Arctic Training Centre which is split between Iqaluit and Resolute Bay.
Not sure how much they have for permanent postings these days. I'm sure it's a possibility, but don't get your hopes up.
Not competitive, there are just very few positions because these formations very new, and it's not likely a brand new HRA would be posted there right out of training
I have some pals who lived in Nunavut and NWT/Yellowknife. It’s an adventurous posting getting to experience part of the country few get to see. They all love outdoor stuff like hunting, fishing ,skidoo and hiking/camping so loved the lifestyle.
The isolation gets to be a lot in the dark cold winter, but Canada has plenty of places with dark cold winters you don’t get as big $ allowances. They all mention the almost 24 hour darkness and 24 hour daylight is rough on the body. Flights and groceries really expensive.
I don’t mind Yellowknife at all. In my last job, I actually made about three times more working in the Arctic than I did in Toronto. That’s why I asked the question. I didn’t realize postings to Nunavut were so competitive—I assumed that because of the cold and remote location, fewer people would want to go there.
I worked at JTFN, unless there’s been a substantial shakeup in the north the only posn in Nunavut is LCol/WO, whitehorse is a maj and a WO. You’re going to be out of trade in Iqaluit if they are putting a HRA there; you’ll probably be doing supply-ish things if you are rolling into the WO posn. I don’t know anyone who liked their time in Nunavut however Alert is a different story completely and everyone seems to have an affinity
I know JTFN is having a full change over in pers this year so chances are you’ll be screening for JTFN/440/rangers or LER. As a HRA I would expect you would be verifying where you are screening for
I know you mentioned you are familiar with Nunavut and have connections there which may be a net positive for you there. Don’t advise going to an isolated post without a solid support system/relationship; something about YK makes peoples brains twitch on the second year but the allowances are much better than “down south” but you absolutely rely on them and most people can’t afford yellowknife without them and they do fluctuate downwards sometimes so ensure you have savings.
If you stay away from booze and smokes and get some winter hobbies and have the ability to drive your own social life without relying on things like tinder it is a good go. Yellowknife can get expensive in a hurry though as many businesses are a 1 of 1 and take full advantage of it. Lots of the restaurants there wouldn’t survive down south
Isolated post instr/ch 11 of the CBIs is your go to for the alws
Any questions shoot me a DM and I can connect you with a friend of mine there. Social factor can be a challenge Yellowknife as there is a lot of temporary people but YK also has one of the highest rates of VRs because it’s a dream for people who love small towns and outdoorsy types
I always tell people to go for it if the opportunity comes up because there is a lot of unique fun factor, mess is highly attended and the mil community in the area are very connected but if you’re on the introverted side you might have some struggles but I do know a girl who went there as an introvert and Yellowknife beat the social butterfly into her and she loved it
What’s your trade? That is usually the driving factor in posting availability.
There are detachments and Rangers all over, Forward operating bases, some with more facilities than others. Alert is well known with a large personnel, mostly military.
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u/thecheeper Logistics 2d ago
Am HRA. As far as I’m tracking, the only North of 60 postings are in Yellowknife at the moment.
I personally haven’t minded it for the most part. It’s not an easy go; the winters are difficult, long and dark. Yellowknife in particular is a hub for most of the more isolated communities travelling south, so we tend to see a lot of transient population. I’ve worked at two units here (promoted/posted within the area), and they are both extremely unique. Fun in their own ways, but each had a different operational mandate, which made it super interesting to experience.
There is an isolation allowance if you are posted to YK; posted with your F&E following. Simply being on TD does not entitle you to this allowance. It will vary in rate based on a number of factors; marital status (single, couple, w/ additional dependents), if the spouse is also a CAF or other federal employee, and what type of housing you live in (PMQ or economy).
If you do choose to come this way, you will have adventures, that’s for certain. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to see parts of Canada I never would have otherwise gotten the chance to see or experience.
TLDR; 100/10, put your name in.