Salluit means "The Thin Ones" in Inuktitut, referring to a time when local inhabitants were facing starvation as a result of a lack of wildlife.

In 1925, an independent trader opened a trading post on the site of present-day Salluit.

In 1930, the HBC built a store at present-day Salluit and closed its post at Deception Bay in 1932.

The golden years of fur trading came to an end around 1936 when the price of pelts collapsed.

The first residential houses were built in 1959 and ten years later a co-operative store was established by its residents.