Torngat Mountains National Park (Inuktitut: Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga) is a Canadian national park located on the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The park covers 9,700 km² (3,700 sq mi; 2,400,000 acres) of mountainous land between Northern Quebec and the Labrador Sea. It is the largest national park in Atlantic Canada and the southernmost national park in the Arctic Cordillera. It partially includes the Torngat Mountains, the highest mountains in mainland Canada east of the Rocky Mountains.

The park was created to honor the connection that Inuit people from Labrador and Nunavik have with the land. Parks Canada works with these groups to protect the environment and to share the park’s history with Inuit communities. The subarctic mountains are part of the larger Inuit homeland, called Inuit Nunangat. The area around the park is managed by Inuit and is named "Nunatsiavut," which means "our beautiful land" in their language. The mountains are an important place for Inuit and are known as the "place of spirits."

An area called Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve was set aside in 2005 with the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, with the goal of creating a national park. When the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement was signed in 2008, the park was officially established, and the reserve became Torngat Mountains National Park, the first in Labrador.

The Torngat Mountains have many types of plants and animals living in different ecosystems. Indigenous cultures rely on caribou for food and traditions. The park protects wildlife such as boreal woodland caribou, black bears, Labrador wolf packs, red and Arctic foxes, polar bears, peregrine falcons, and golden eagles. Four different climate zones allow these species to live together. As temperatures increase, ice is melting, and shrubs are growing quickly, which affects local people, animals, and visitors.

The park is open all year and can be reached by charter airplane, cruise ship, or snowmobile. It offers outdoor activities like hiking, scrambling, and kayaking.

Creation of park

In the 1970s, Parks Canada aimed to create national parks in 39 areas of Canada. These areas were selected based on their plants, trees, and natural landscapes. The Torngat Mountains were chosen to be protected as part of this plan. The Labrador and Nunavik Inuit communities also wanted the Torngat Mountains to be conserved because the land is important to their culture and history. Parks Canada worked with these groups to respect their rights, interests, and connection to the land. The Torngat Mountains are the tallest in Canada, except for the Rocky Mountains, making them an important area to protect. The park is open to all Canadians, with special attention given to Nunavik and Labrador Inuit to use the land and its resources. These are some of the main purposes of the park.

The park’s goals include keeping the natural environment healthy, sharing the Inuit story, and attracting visitors to support the park. Efforts to protect the environment have addressed issues such as the Torngat Mountains’ isolated and separated areas, which are home to wildlife, and human activities that might harm the land. To expand activities beyond hunting and fishing, the Nunavik Tourism Association was formed. This helped Inuit communities grow their businesses and teach others about their history. Other groups were also created to manage resources, protect the environment, and support economic growth in the region.

The park’s boundaries include the lowest point of the Labrador Sea to the east, Saglek Fiord to the south, the provincial border with Quebec to the west, and the northern tip of Newfoundland. The Iron Strand is not included in the park because it is owned by the Labrador Inuit. The park does not extend beyond Newfoundland’s provincial borders, which helped determine the western boundaries. The park reaches the eastern coastline of Newfoundland, where Grenfell Sound, Eclipse Channel, and Bears Gut are located. There is no information provided about how the southern border of the park was chosen.

Inuit

On December 1, 2005, the Inuit and the Canadian Government signed the "Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement" (LILCA). The agreement gave the Inuit control over 72,520 km² (28,000 sq mi) of land in Northern Labrador, which they named "Nunatsiavut." The word "Nunatsiavut" means "our beautiful land" in Inuktitut, a language spoken by many Inuit people.

The Torngat Mountains National Park is part of the Nunatsiavut region. It is managed jointly by the Canadian government and the Nunatsiavut government. This means both groups share responsibility for caring for the park, its resources, and its management. The Torngat Mountains were known as a park reserve since 2005 but became a national park on July 10, 2008, after the Land Claim Agreement became legally effective. When the LILCA was signed, the Inuit and the Canadian Government also signed the Park Impacts and Benefits Agreement (PIBA). This agreement explains the Inuit's connection to the park's natural land and ecosystems and states that these connections will be respected. The mountains are a spiritual place for Inuit, and many travel there to seek guidance from "spirit helpers." The name "Torngat" comes from the Inuktitut word "Tongait," meaning "place of spirits."

Fauna

The Torngat Mountains in Canada are home to the Nunatsiavut Inuit and support many different animal species. Animals such as caribou, polar bears, Arctic hares, birds, and wolves live in the area. Caribou and wolves have a predator-prey relationship, and caribou rely on lichen during the winter. Parks Canada has observed seals, including ringed seals, hooded seals, harp seals, and harbor seals, as well as whales near the coast of the Torngat Mountains. Four distinct climate zones—mountain alpine climate, coastal fjords and headlands climate, southern interior valleys climate, and Arctic flora—exist in the Torngat Mountains, creating habitats for a variety of species.

Harlequin ducks, caribou, and peregrine falcons are species at risk that live in the Torngat Mountains. Caribou are at risk because of human activities in the area. Over 38 years, caribou populations in the region have declined by 81 percent. Activities such as mining, industrial development, overhunting, overharvesting, and climate change contribute to this decline. Caribou tend to avoid areas near mining operations up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away. While mining is not currently a major threat, increased mining and development may affect caribou safety. Building dams and using hydroelectric projects also harm caribou by disrupting their habitat and space.

Historically, caribou have been important cultural and traditional resources for Indigenous groups, including the Cree, Inuit, and Naskapi. Sport hunting of caribou was banned in Quebec in 2012 and in Labrador in 2013. However, definitions of sport hunting differ between regions. In Quebec, hunting by non-Indigenous people is considered sport hunting, while in Labrador, non-Indigenous Labradoreans classify their hunting as subsistence hunting. Inuit elders and hunters believe their hunting practices do not lead to overharvesting. Traditional knowledge holders also note that caribou have long been essential for Indigenous cultures, providing food and clothing. The wildlife and scenic views of the Torngat Mountains are important attractions for visitors.

Visitors and activities

The park receives fewer than 600 visitors each year. Visitors may reach the park by plane, boat, or on foot. Silluak, located on the northern part of the Saglek Fiord near Saglek Bay, serves as a starting point for visitors. Hiking trails in the park are mostly not marked, and because there are many polar bears, it is recommended to work with armed local guides. Other activities available in the park include watching animals, climbing mountains, camping in remote areas, observing birds, kayaking, and taking photographs.

Impact of climate change

Since the 1980s, the climate in northern Nunatsiavut, Labrador, has been getting warmer. Each decade, summer sea ice has decreased by 30 percent. Snow days have also decreased across the region. Sea ice helps control the climate and keeps temperatures lower. Less sea ice near coastlines has been connected to more frequent exposure to unusually high temperatures for local people in recent years.

It also affects the productivity of the tundra. In the Arctic, shrubs are growing taller, larger, and appearing in new areas. This process is called "shrubification." By 2039 to 2043, the area in Torngat Mountains National Park covered by shrubs is expected to grow by about 50 percent compared to 2014.

Shrubification can make it harder for local Inuit and wildlife to survive. Too many shrubs can make travel in summer and winter more difficult, making tools like snowmobiles more dangerous. It also makes it harder to find black or polar bears, which can make tourism dangerous and increase the chance of conflicts between tourists and the bears. Shrubification has affected local food production and gathering, especially by reducing the availability and productivity of berries. It also harms the amount and variety of lichen, which is an important food source for the Torngat Mountain caribou population.