PEAWANUCK - In the tiny fly-in First Nations community of Peawanuck, nestled near Polar Bear Provincial Park in Northern Ontario, Émilie Veilleux has found a life she never imagined.
Veilleux wasn’t always a northerner.
Born and raised in Quebec, she became a registered nurse and began her career in southern Canada. In 2015, a job as a travel nurse took her to the Far North, sparking a deep connection to the land and people.
“I really started falling in love with Peawanuck specifically. I found the people were so welcoming. They’re very traditional and they showed me a lot of things,” she said.
“I didn't know Gilbert at the time, but I just really fell in love with the community, and I started asking to go more and more to go to Peawanuck to work at the nursing station.”
Eventually, that love became permanent.
A new Amazon Prime documentary series, Hard North, shares her and her partner Gilbert Chookomoolin’s love for the remote area. The first season is out and showcases the challenge of building a cabin in one of Canada’s most remote and unforgiving environments.
Peawanuck is the home of Weenusk First Nation and is located about 35 kilometres from where the Winisk River flows into Hudson Bay.
After meeting Chookomoolin, Veilleux moved to Peawanuck with her eldest daughter, Annie, leaving behind her southern life. That was eight years ago.
Today, the couple and their three children live a life deeply rooted in nature and tradition, blending Veilleux’s southern upbringing with the cultural richness of the north.
“When I was raising Annie down south, I had to teach her to be very quiet, be still, be proper and be polite in public,” she said.
“But here, the expectation is not there for that. It’s just, let your kid be a kid. I really like the way that we’re raising our kids here. They get to be kids, and at the same time, we’re taking them on the land a lot, so they’re also learning a lot of skills that I didn’t have.”
Veilleux’s time in the community has reshaped her perspective on life.
“I always thought I needed the biggest house or the best car to be happy,” she said.
“But being out on the land made me realize how I was chasing happiness with materialistic things. It’s not material things that I need, it’s just being out on the land. And that's really shaped my whole outlook.”
Producers first approached Veilleux and her family during the casting for Life Below Zero: Canadian Edition, based on photographs she had tagged at Polar Bear Provincial Park. Although they were not selected for that show, producers later contacted her about Hard North.
“About four years later, which was two summers ago now, they said, ‘Hey, remember us? We’re doing a new show. Would you like to be part of it?’ We immediately said yes,” she said.
“We’d been wanting to build a cabin, so it worked well for us and for the show.”
Filming began in fall of 2023 and continued through spring 2024, with parts of the series shot in Peawanuck and others “in the bush.”
With limited access to materials and tools, the hurdles of building a cabin in such a remote location were a big part of the experience.
“Because we’re a fly-in community, it’s really hard to get some supplies. Luckily, we were able to find some equipment that we could use with a battery and that we could charge with the generator, so that would work out in the bush,” she said.
Not having experience building a bigger cabin, it was more work than they thought.
“It was very cold and windy. Trying to build a cabin through the harsh winter was definitely a challenge, but it made it really fun, too," Veilleux said.
Veilleux hopes the series will shed light on life in remote northern communities like Peawanuck.
“A lot of people might not be aware of how it is in Northern Ontario. It might be new to some people,” she said.
Through Hard North, Veilleux wants viewers to be inspired to embrace their dreams.
“I always knew the city life wasn’t for me. I followed the fact that I love being outside in the bush. I might not have all that much experience, but I really felt like that’s where I belong,” she said.
Veilleux, Chookomoolin, and their three children are currently filming the second season of Hard North.
The family is now filming the second season.
“Anything is possible,” she said. “Just listen to who you are and follow that. You’ll find peace with that.”
