The meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations is the biggest event ever to hit this town of 6,000 on the southern tip of Baffin Island.

"I've been looking forward to it for a long time," said Ooloosie Tawkie, an Inuit from a tiny Arctic community who moved to the Nunavut territory's capital eight years ago. "It's very exciting.

"People from around the world will see the realities of living in the north," she told AFP.

She said the Canadian government made "a good choice" hosting finance ministers and central bankers from the world's major economies in this community only 300 kilometers (185 miles) from the Arctic Circle.

"We have winter 10 months of the year. It's cold, it's isolated and it's expensive," said hotel manager Justin Ford, who moved here last year "in search of adventure."

He lamented that he has not yet seen a polar bear or a live seal, which G7 officials are also not likely to spot during their visit. But his co-worker often brings raw narwhal meat to work to share.

According to organizers, some 100 journalists from seven countries -- Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Britain -- are expected to cover the conference.

Visitors will find that Iqaluit, which means "fish" in the native language, has shed its past as a Cold War US military outpost to become a major northern economic and political hub since being named the capital of Nunavut in 1999.

The territorial government is eager to attract investment and create jobs for its 32,000 inhabitants, while the federal government builds up scarce northern infrastructure and talks up Canada's Arctic potential.

This year's G7 meeting is one such example.

"Iqaluit and Nunavut have a strong economic potential, especially in the mining sector," said Emily Woods, spokeswoman for Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak.

Most companies have only just begun exploration for resource riches believed to be hidden beneath the Arctic ice and snow.

They expect to find significant gold and iron ore deposits in the territory that should become more accessible as global warming thaws the polar ice, Woods said.

"The Inuit culture is thriving" as a result, he said.

Last weekend, locals tuned in to the first National Hockey League broadcast in their native language Inuktitut.

Like many outlanders, Detroit-born Woods came here on a three-month contract, and stayed.

"The land is absolutely magical and the people are so friendly," she said, describing Iqaluit as both "isolated" with no roads leading to the outside world and "cosmopolitan" due to an influx of prospectors, scientists and explorers from abroad.

"When you fly in for the first time, all you see is a great expanse of white and then suddenly, this tiny community pops up in front of you out of nowhere," she said.

Yet rapid growth has also proved problematic.

There is a housing shortage and widespread alcoholism despite alcohol bans in several of the territory's 25 communities.

The infrastructure is old and overwhelmed, supplies must be shipped in by boat or airplane and the cost of living is three times higher than in Canada's cities. A liter of milk costs eight Canadian dollars (7.50 dollars US).

The local telecommunications firm added 30 percent more Internet bandwidth for the G7 conference, but it is still strained.

Traffic jams are also a new reality. "There are more cars here now than ever before," Woods noted.

Lawmakers have been debating for years whether to install the territory's first traffic light at the only intersection in town.

"In some ways, it's more challenging than anywhere I've lived," Woods said, lamenting mornings when her skidoo fails to start and she cannot get to work.

But it is also a much less hectic life, immersed in nature.

"Living up here puts things in perspective because you're completely at the hands of the weather gods," she said, explaining how occasional blizzards shut down the tiny capital.

"You can't see your hand in front of your face. It can be dangerous," she added, thankful for mild weather forecast for the G7 talks.

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