Work out the cheapest way to get something to Iqaluit — ordered up on the summer sealift, flown as air cargo, or bought at the store — from its weight and size.
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Which is cheapest depends on how heavy and how bulky the thing is. Put in one item — a sofa, a freezer, a pallet of supplies — and this works out the landed cost each way. It's loaded with an example to start; change the numbers to your own.
What are you sending?
The weight and outside size of the item or box — both matter, because each way of shipping charges on whichever is bigger. Loaded with an example: a small sofa (light, but bulky).
The shipping rates
These are current published rates — but your own quote, with fuel surcharge and taxes, always governs. Change them to match what you were quoted.
NEAS 2026 Nunavut rate sheet, Iqaluit from Bécancour — before fuel surcharge, insurance and taxes.
Canadian North economy freight, Ottawa–Iqaluit, tariff effective 26 Jan 2026 — taxes and surcharges extra.
What it costs, landed in Iqaluit
Order by sealift
Cheapest
$853.56
of which freight: $253.56
Order in spring · arrives on the summer barge
0.648 revenue tons — billed on its size (volume). Weight basis 0.04 · size basis 0.648.
Fly it up (air cargo)
$1,356.77
of which freight: $756.77
Days, not months · but dearest per kg
231.4 kg charged — billed on its size (dimensional weight). Actual 40 kg · size basis 231.4 kg.
Buy it here
$1,400.00
Today, off the shelf · if the store has it
Northmart and Arctic Ventures carry the everyday version now — but Iqaluit shelf prices run roughly 1.5 to 2 times southern Canada, because almost all of what you pay is the cost of getting it here. For big or heavy things, ordering ahead usually wins.
Sealift and air add their freight to the southern price; “buy it here” is the store price you entered. Enter a southern price to compare the two shipping options.
An estimate, not a quote
This is a guide to help you decide, not a real invoice. Sealift bills add a fuel-price surcharge, dangerous-goods surcharge, optional insurance and taxes on top of the rate here; air bills add taxes, fuel and NAV surcharges and pickup/delivery. Always confirm with a quote from the carrier before you order.
How sealift is priced
By the revenue ton — you pay for whichever is bigger: the weight in tonnes, or the volume divided by 2.5 (so 2.5 m³ counts as one revenue ton). A light, bulky thing like a sofa is billed on its size; a dense pallet on its weight. Every shipment is charged for at least 0.5 of a revenue ton. On top of the rate, a real NEAS bill adds a fuel-price surcharge, a 20% surcharge on dangerous goods, cargo insurance if you ask NEAS to arrange it, and taxes.
How air cargo is priced
By the chargeable weight — the greater of the actual weight and the “dimensional weight” (length × width × height in cm ÷ 7000), with a minimum charge of $42.33 a shipment. That is why flying something big and light up costs far more than its weight suggests. On top of the rate, a real air bill adds taxes, fuel and NAV surcharges, and any pickup or delivery fees. Paying cash for a personal (non-business) shipment gets a lower dimensional factor (9,000), which makes bulky items a bit cheaper to fly.
Sealift season: late June to late October
You order in the spring — the first-boat cut-off is usually around the end of May — and your goods arrive by barge sometime across the open-water months. Cut-off and sailing dates are set fresh each year, so confirm this season's dates with the carrier before you order. Everything must be crated or boxed, labelled, and ready by the cut-off.
Nutrition North — the subsidy on food
Eligible food and some essentials shipped north — by air, sealift or barge — carry a Nutrition North Canada subsidy that registered stores must pass on at the till, so it's already inside the shelf price at Northmart. You can also place a personal order directly with a registered southern supplier, and the subsidy comes off the eligible items before you pay. The subsidy is per kilogram and set by community; Iqaluit, as a regional hub, gets a lower rate than fly-in-only communities. It doesn't apply to furniture, appliances or building materials — only eligible food and a few essentials.
Sealift is for the big and the heavy: bulk non-perishables (rice, pasta, canned goods, cleaning supplies, toilet paper), furniture, appliances, building materials, snow machines, vehicles. Perishables — milk, produce, fresh meat — come by air, which is why they cost the most. Many households do one big sealift food order a year and top up at the store.
You pay for the greater of weight or size
This is the key to it. Sealift charges by whichever is more — the weight, or the volume divided by 2.5. Air charges by whichever is more — the weight, or the size divided by 7,000. So a light but bulky thing (a mattress, a sofa, an empty freezer) is billed on its size, not its weight, both ways. Pack tightly and don't ship air.
Sending something back south
Retrograde (southbound) cargo on NEAS is charged at about 65% of the northbound rate — worth knowing if you're returning something big or moving away.