I've known several people who would happily live in the Arctic so even that's not a complete no go.

You can do better than that. I'm not sure how far you have to get from Calgary or Edmonton before abandoned, falling apart farmhouses start, but it might be only 45 minutes.

And if you're in a random part of the north, it's more like weeks of offroading.

Edit: Obviously, that 45 minutes is still enough to discourage most buyers. You might still be 20 from the nearest stores of any kind. So, the point stands, most of the land isn't acceptable for most people.

Actually, we have no trouble finding immigrants, and mostly let in ones that are doctors or something like that (who then end up working fast food anyway).

But yes, many of the people who were born here, and grew up somewhat acclimatised, still bitterly complain about the climate.