Today
Today Baker Lake is quickly growing and evolving. It is the fourth largest community in a territory of 28 communities. A mixture of old and new ways are practiced, as well as spoken Inuktitut and English languages. Traditional land food is hunted and fished, while popular varieties of fast food are available in town. Trucks, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles are used for transportation. Iglus and canvas tents remain important survival shelters, but centrally-heated housing has replaced nomadic life. Traditional skills are an important cultural means, as well as a life saver to the unforgiving harshness of the land and its weather. Arts and crafts development is strong, but modern means (television, satellite, Internet, cell phones) and new industries (government, mining, construction…) have influenced and affected the numbers of artists producing today.
Significant recent dates:
| 1996 | Northern Store opened |
| 1998 | Inuit Heritage Centre opened |
| 1999 | Creation of Nunavut Territory |
| 2005 | Broadband Internet service available |
| 2008 | Cell phone service available |
| 2010 | Proposed initial production of Meadowbank Gold Mine (70 km north) |
Average Daily Temperatures in the months of the solstices:
| April | -17 Degrees Celsius |
| June | +5 Degrees Celsius |
| September | +3 Degrees Celsius |
| December | -28 Degrees Celsius |