It's no secret that tourism is playing an increasing role in the Beaufort Delta economy.

Every summer, the town plays host to wave after wave of road warrior SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” adventurers who brave the Dempster Highway to reach the Arctic ocean.

More recently, those driving campers and motorcycles have been joined by a newcomer. Travelling with electric vehicles, even to the far North, has become a hobby in itself. Numerous models from Teslas to Fords have made the trip SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” even in the dead of winter SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” but up until now, those travellers have had to improvise how they recharge their batteries as they make their way north.

That won't be a problem anymore, thanks to a combination of philanthropy and business development. A series of overnight chargers have been set up along the Dempster Highway, with three stations now active in Inuvik.

"You plug them in, they charge within 12 to 18 hours," said Arctic Char Suites spokesman Merle Carpenter. "Stop at night, plug them in and you should be good to go in the morning.

"They can plug their cars in and walk to their hotel."

Carpenter added that he also acquired the adapters for the Tesla chargers to allow other brands of EVs to use them.

Two of the charging stations are located at the suites, located just opposite of the Igloo Church and next to Northmart. The third spot is Polar Tire, just before leaving to Tuktoyaktuk. An overnight charge is enough to get to Tuk and back and all three chargers are free for the community and tourists to use.

The chargers were donated by four adventurers, Gary Mark, Rafael and Nancy Santoni, and Justin Demaree, known as the "Bearded Tesla Guy" on YouTube SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” with a great deal of sponsors SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” who were determined to drive two Tesla cybertrucks from Miami, Florida, to the Arctic ocean. As part of the trip, the team donated six Tesla wall charges to communities along the way. They reached the Arctic ocean on Sept. 5.

It took the two cybertrucks six days to get from Dawson City to Tuktoyaktuk and back. With the chargers installed, the trip should now be doable in half the time.

Even with the donation, getting the chargers operating wasn't cheap. By the time Arctic Char had installed the necessary electrical panels and equipment that needed to be shipped up, the "free" chargers ended up costing $5,000.

"They're about $1,000 a charger," said Carpenter. "I had to buy electrical parts and panels at a cost of about $2,000. Freight was about $1,000 at the end of the day because they send some parts up and it was the wrong one, so I had to send one back and they sent a new one up, and to install them was $2,000."

Opened in 2021 by Kerri Shanks and Brad Carpenter, Arctic Char Suites is a six-unit hotel with a commercial space on the main floor. The operation was forced to get creative in its business plan right out of the gate, as shortly after opening the Covid-19 pandemic shut down much of the hospitality industry.

However, the pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the 14-day isolation requirement kept their six suites occupied pretty much all year.

"We thought we were in a world of hurt, but it actually turned out OK," said Carpenter. "Everyone who came to Inuvik had to isolate for a week to 10 days, so they stayed in the hotel and couldn't leave. Kerri would shop for them and leave food for guests at the door.

"So we managed to stay afloat."

As the downtown charging location for Inuvik, Arctic Char Suites, along with Polar Tire, is now visible on a number of EV charting maps, such as plugshare.com, and Carpenter anticipated the town's presence will draw more adventure seekers via the Dempster Highway.

In the interim, the chargers are set up and ready for whoever needs them.

"I can't charge for power," he said. "So this is just a way for a small business to provide a service to the EV community.

"I think it was just the right thing to do."