Northwest Territories
For other geographical names that use the term "Northwest," see Northwest.The present-day territory was created in June
1870, when the
Hudson's Bay Company transferred
Rupert's Land and
North-Western Territory to the government of
Canada. This immense region comprised all of modern Canada except
British Columbia, the coast of the
Great Lakes, the
Saint Lawrence River valley and the southern third of
Quebec, the
Maritimes,
Newfoundland, and the
Labrador coast. It also excluded the
Arctic Islands except the southern half of
Baffin Island; these remained under direct British rule until 1880.
The name of the territory is traced to North-Western Territory, a region named for the geographical location relative to
Rupert's Land.
After the transfer, the territories were gradually whittled away. The province of
Manitoba was created on
15 July 1870, a tiny square around Winnipeg, and then enlarged in
1881 to a square region composing the modern province's south. By the time
British Columbia joined confederation on
20 July 1871, it had already (1866) been granted the portion of North-Western Territory south of 60 degrees north and west of 120 degrees west. In
1882 Regina in the then-District of
Assiniboia became the territorial capital; after Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905, Regina became the provincial capital of the new province of Saskatchewan.
 |
North-Western Territory in 1859 |
In
1876, the
District of Keewatin, at the centre of the territory, was separated from it. In
1882 and again in
1896, the remaining portion was divided into the following districts (corresponding to the following modern-day areas):
*
Alberta (southern
Alberta);
*
Assiniboia (southern Saskatchewan);
*
Athabaska (northern Alberta and Saskatchewan);
*
Franklin (the
Arctic islands and
Boothia and
Melville Peninsulas);
*
Mackenzie (mainland NWT and western Nunavut);
*
Saskatchewan (central
Saskatchewan);
*
Ungava (modern-day northern
Quebec and inland
Labrador, as well as an offshore area in Hudson Bay);
*
Yukon (modern Yukon Territory).
Keewatin would be returned to NWT in
1905.
See also: Districts of Northwest TerritoriesIn the meantime, Ontario was enlarged northwestward in
1882. Quebec was also extended, in
1898, and
Yukon was made a separate territory in the same year to deal with the
Klondike Gold Rush, and remove the NWT government from administering the sudden boom of population, economic activity and influx of non-Canadians.
The provinces of
Alberta and
Saskatchewan were created in
1905, and Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec acquired the last of their modern territories from NWT in
1912. This left only the districts of Mackenzie, Franklin (which absorbed the remnants of Ungava in 1920), and Keewatin. In
1925, the boundaries of NWT were extended all the way to the
North Pole on the sector principle, vastly expanding its territory onto the northern ice cap. The reduced Northwest Territories was not represented in the
Canadian House of Commons from
1907 until
1947 when the electoral district of
Yukon"Mackenzie River was created. This riding only included the
District of Mackenzie. The rest of the Northwest Territories had no repesentation in the House of Commons until the early 1960s when the
Northwest Territories electoral district was created in recognition of
Inuit having been given the
right to vote in
1953.
In 1912 the Government of Canada renamed the territory to Northwest Territories, dropping the
hyphenated form. Between 1925 and 1999, Northwest Territories measured 3 439 296 km² " larger than
India.
Finally, on
April 1,
1999, the eastern three-fifths of Northwest Territories (including all of Keewatin district and much of Mackenzie and Franklin) became a separate territory called
Nunavut.
There was some discussion of changing the name of Northwest Territories after the separation of Nunavut, possibly to a term from an Aboriginal language. One proposal was "Denendeh" ("our land" in
Dene). The idea was advocated by former premier Stephen Kakfwi among others. Also, a popular radio station began to promote changing the territory's name to "Bob". This idea appeared to have some popular support, but was never taken seriously by politicians (or probably even those who claimed to support it). In the end, as a poll conducted prior to division showed, strong support remained for retaining the name "Northwest Territories". This name arguably became more appropriate following division, than it was when the territory extended far into Canada's north
east. [
1] [
2] In
Inuktitut, Northwest Territories are referred to as ""ᑦ"ᐊᖅ (
Nunatsiaq), "beautiful land."
As a territory, Northwest Territories has fewer rights than the
provinces do. During his term, Premier Kakfwi pushed to have the federal government accord more rights to the territory, including having a greater share of the returns from the territory's natural resources go to the territory. [
3] Devolution of powers to the territory was an issue in the
20th general election in 2003, and has been ever since the territory began electing members in 1881.
The
Commissioner of NWT is the chief executive and is appointed by the federal
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The position used to be more administrative and governmental but with the devolution of more and more powers to the elected assembly since 1967 the position has become symbolic. Since 1985 the Commissioner no longer chairs meetings of the Executive Council (or
cabinet) and the federal government has instructed commissioners to behave like a provincial
lieutenant-governor. Unlike lieutenant-governors, the commissioner is not a formal representative of the
Queen of Canada.
Unlike provincial governments, the Government of Northwest Territories does not have political parties, except for the period between 1898 and 1905. It is a consensus government called the Legislative Assembly. This group is composed of one member elected from each of the nineteen constituencies. After each general election, the new parliament elects a premier and speaker by secret ballot. Seven MLAs are also chosen as cabinet ministers, with the remainder forming the opposition. The territory's
most recent general election was on
November 24,
2003. The head of state for the territories is a
Commissioner appointed by the federal government. The Commissioner had full governmental powers until 1980 when the territories were given greater self government. The legislature then began electing a
cabinet and
Government Leader later known as the
Premier.
The
Premier of Northwest Territories is
Joe Handley. The member of Parliament for
Western Arctic, the riding that comprises Northwest Territories, is
Dennis Bevington. The
Commissioner of Northwest Territories is
Tony Whitford.
The territory enjoys vast geological resources including
diamonds,
gold, and
natural gas. In particular, NWT diamonds are touted as an ethical alternative that allays risks of supporting conflicts by purchasing
blood diamonds.
However, their exploitation has raised environmental concerns, not least the potential havoc that a spill from tailings ponds could cause to unspoiled wilderness areas such as the
Nahanni National Park Reserve, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The vast natural resources and relatively low population give Northwest Territorities the highest per capita GDP of all provinces or territorites in Canada. In fact, its per capita GDP of C$94,953 would rank it first in the world if it were considered as its own country, well ahead of 2nd place Luxembourg (at approximately C$83,000 (nominal GDP)).
Major Territorial Mines*
Con Mine - 1938-2003 (gold)
*
Giant Mine - 1948-2004 (gold)
*
Ptarmigan and Tom Mine - 1941-1942, 1986-1997 (gold)
*
Negus Mine - 1939-1952 (gold)
*
Thompson-Lundmark Mine - 1941-1943, 1947-1949 (gold)
*
Discovery Mine - 1950-1969 (gold)
*
Camlaren Mine - 1962-1963, 1980-1981 (gold)
*
Eldorado Mine - 1933-1940, 1942-1960, 1976-1982 (radium, uranium, silver, copper)
*
Echo Bay Mine - 1964-1975 (silver and copper)
*
Ekati Diamond Mine - 1998-current (diamonds)
*
Diavik Diamond Mine - 2003-current (diamonds)
*
Pine Point Mine - 1964-1988 (lead and zinc)
*
Cantung Mine - 1962-1986, 2002-2003, 2005-current (tungsten)
*
Rayrock Mine - 1957-1959 (uranium)
*
Terra Mine - 1969-1985 (silver and copper)
*
Tundra Mine - 1964-1968 (gold)
*
Salmita Mine - 1983-1987 (gold)
*
Colomac Mine - 1990-1992, 1994-1997 (gold)
Population of Northwest Territories since 1871
| Year | Population | Five Year
% change | Ten Year
% change!Rank Among
Provinces | | 1871 | 48,000 | n/a | n/a | 6 |
| 1881 | 56,446 | n/a | 17.6 | 7 |
| 1891 | 98,967 | n/a | 75.3 | 7 |
| 1901 | 20,129* | n/a | -79.7 | 11 |
| 1911 | 6,507** | n/a | -67.7 | 11 |
| 1921 | 8,143 | n/a | 25.1 | 10 |
| 1931 | 9,316 | n/a | 14.4 | 10 |
| 1941 | 12,028 | n/a | 29.1 | 10 |
| 1951 | 16,004 | n/a | 33.1 | 11 |
| 1956 | 19,313 | 20.7 | n/a | 11 |
| 1961 | 22,998 | 19.1 | 43.7 | 11 |
| 1966 | 28,738 | 25.0 | 48.8 | 11 |
| 1971 | 34,805 | 21.1 | 51.3 | 11 |
| 1976 | 42,610 | 22.4 | 48.3 | 11 |
| 1981 | 45,740 | 7.3 | 31.4 | 11 |
| 1986 | 52,235 | 14.2 | 22.6 | 11 |
| 1991 | 57,649 | 10.3 | 26.0 | 11 |
| 1996 | 64,402 | 11.7 | 23.2 | 11 |
| 2001 | 37,360*** | 42.0 | 35.2 | 11 |
*Note: Yukon territory was ceded from Northwest Territories in 1898.**Note: Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from parts of Northwest Territories in 1905.***Note: Data through 1996 includes Nunavut. 2001 data does not include Nunavut.Source: Statistics Canada [
4]
10 Largest population centres
10 Largest Municipalities by population| Municipality | 2001!1996 | | Yellowknife | 16,541 | 17,275 |
| Hay River | 3,510 | 3,611 |
| Inuvik | 2,894 | 3,296 |
| Fort Smith | 2,185 | 2,441 |
| Behchoko | 1,552 | 1,662 |
| Fort Simpson | 1,163 | 1,257 |
| Tuktoyaktuk | 930 | 943 |
| Fort McPherson | 761 | 878 |
| Fort Providence | 753 | 748 |
| Norman Wells | 666 | 798 |
French was made an official language in 1877 by the appointed government, after lengthy and bitter debate resulting from a
speech from the throne in 1888 by Lt. Governor
Joseph Royal. The members voted on more than one occasion to nullify and make English the only language used in the assembly. After some conflict with Ottawa and a decisive vote on
January 19,
1892, the issue was put to rest as an English-only territory.
In the early
1980s, the government of Northwest Territories was again under pressure by the federal government to reintroduce French as an official language. Some native members walked out of the assembly, protesting that they would not be permitted to speak their own language. The executive council appointed a special committee of MLAs to study the matter. They decided that if French was to be an official language, then so must the other languages in the territories.
The Northwest Territory's official language's act recognizes eight
official languages, more than any other political division in Canada.
[Official Languages Act]*
Dene Suline;
*
Cree;
*
Dogrib or
Tlicho;
*
English;
*
French;
*
Gwich'in;
*
Inuktitut*
Inuvialuktun*
Inuinnaqtun*
South Slavey*
North SlaveyNWT residents have a right to use any of the above languages:
*when receiving services from the government;
*in court;
*in debates and proceedings of the legislature.
Aboriginal issues in Northwest Territories include the fate of the
Dene who, in the 1940s, were employed to carry radioactive
uranium ore from the mines on
Great Bear Lake. Their cancer rates skyrocketed due to lack of safety procedures that were available to their white colleagues.
Another issue is historic racial tension based on the bloody history between the Dene and the
Inuit, who nevertheless have taken recent steps towards reconciliation.
Land claims in NWT culminated with the creation of the Inuit homeland of
Nunavut, the result of the largest land claim in Canadian history.
Another land claims agreement with the
Dogrib nation created a region within NWT called
Tli Cho, between Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes, which will give the Dogrib their own legislative bodies, taxes, resource royalties, and other affairs, though NWT will still maintain control over such areas as health and education. This area includes the only diamond mines in Canada.
*
Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories*
List of Northwest Territories lieutenant-governors*
List of Northwest Territories commissioners*
List of Northwest Territories general elections*
List of Northwest Territories premiers*
List of Northwest Territories plebiscites*
List of Northwest Territories highways*
History of Northwest Territories capital cities*
List of Northwest Territories Legislative Assemblies*
List of communities in Northwest Territories*
List of abandoned communities in Northwest Territories*
List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols*
List of Canadian national parks*
Nunavut*
Scouting in the Northwest Territories*
Government of Northwest Territories*
Language Commissioner of Northwest Territories*
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre*
NWT Archives*
NWT Historical Timeline*
NWT Literacy Council*
Lessons From the Land: interactive journeys of NWT traditional Aboriginal trails*
"Justifying the end of official bilingualism: Canada's North-West Assembly and the dual-language question, 1889-1892"*
CBC Digital Archives - Northwest Territories: Voting in Canada's North*
Aurora College
