Northwest Territories

Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT) lie north of the sixtieth parallel, bordering the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta to the south, the Yukon Territory to the west, and the territory of Nunavut to the east. Its northern border is the Arctic Ocean.

The NWT are a vast expanse of largely unsettled tundra and forest twice the size of the American state of Texas. Known for the brilliant display of the aurora borealis in the winter months, the NWT are so far north that the winter is otherwise dominated by darkness. Meanwhile, the sun never sets for days at a time during summer. Mining and oil and gas exploration have largely replaced fur-trapping as the basis of the territories' economy.

General Information

Name: The Northwest Territories' name relates to a fur-trapping claim staked by the North West Company, a Montreal-based fur trading company, in the eighteenth century. The NWT are nicknamed the Land of the Midnight Sun because of the long summer days there.

Provincial Symbols

• Bird: Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)
• Flower: Mountain avens (Dryas octopetala)
• Tree: Tamarack (Larix laricina)
• Motto: None

Capital: The capital of the NWT is Yellowknife, with a population of 19,234 (2011 estimate). Centrally located in the NWT on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, it is known as the Diamond Capital of North America, in reference to the area's significant mineral deposits. Since the 1930s, however, gold mining has become prominent in Yellowknife.

People & Culture

Population: The NWT have always been one of the least populated areas of Canada, never accounting for more than about two-tenths of one percent of the country's total population.

The population of the NWT peaked in 1996, at 64,402. In 2001, after Nunavut had split from the territories, the population dropped to 37,360. In 2021, the population was estimated at 45,504.

Approximately 40 percent of the territories' population lives in Yellowknife, the only city in the NWT. Population density outside the city is sparse, with small communities of fewer than four thousand people, such as Hay River (population 3,528 in 2016), Inuvik (3,243 in 2016), and Fort Smith (2,542 in 2016), scattered throughout the territories.

The population is a diverse mix of Aboriginal and European ethnicity. Over half of the total population claims Indigenous heritage, with 13,180 First Nations (mainly of the Dene tribe), 4,075 Inuit, 3,385 Métis (a group descended from First Nations people and early French settlers), and most of the remainder claiming descent from more than one Indigenous group.

Much of the European population of the territories is transient, working for a time in the NWT in mining or related industries before returning home to southern provinces.

Aurora College, founded in 1995, has its main campus in Fort Smith with satellite locations in Inuvik and Yellowknife. Both the Northern Life Museum and National Exhibition Centre in Fort Smith and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife include Aboriginal exhibits along with other displays dealing with the history of the NWT.

Primary and secondary education was once almost entirely provided by religious schools, but since the 1950s has been largely government financed.

Indigenous People: Aboriginal issues are paramount in the NWT. The Denes and Inuit, for example, have historically been at war. However, the Inuit were granted a huge recognition of sovereignty with the creation of the territory of Nunavut, essentially an Inuit homeland. Dene leadership signed an agreement in 2021 with the Canadian government in which both groups agreed to work together to address the legacy of mining on traditional Dene lands.

The Dogrib, or Tlicho, Nation made land claims against the NWT government, which in 2005 agreed to set aside 39,000 square kilometers of land between Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake for the Dogrib people. The communities of Behchoko, Gameti, Wekweeti, and Whati are located in this territory, which also contains two diamond mines, Diavik Diamond Mine and Ekati Diamond Mine.

Modern wireless technology has broken the cultural isolation of the area. Satellite television and internet access are available throughout the NWT, but many argue that traditional culture has been further diluted by these advances.

Environment & Geography

Before 1999, the NWT accounted for about one-third of Canada's area and was larger than India. Nunavut was granted 2,093,190 square kilometers (808,185 square miles) in 1999, splitting off from the NWT. As of 2005, the NWT had 1,346,106 square kilometers (519,735 square miles).

Topography: The still-vast NWT contain a variety of terrain. Elevations range from sea level up to 2,773 meters (9,098 feet) at Mount Nirvana in the Mackenzie Mountains near the Yukon border.

The NWT and Nunavut split the 220,548-square-kilometer (85,154-square-mile) area of Victoria Island, the second largest island in the Arctic next to Nunavut's Baffin Island.

Glaciers have stripped the NWT of usable topsoil. In addition, agriculture is impractical due to the permafrost that lies beneath most of the NWT. However, the glaciers left behind hundreds of rivers and thousands of lakes.

Lying to the north of the Arctic Circle latitude is Great Bear Lake. It follows Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan as the fourth largest lake in North America and the eighth largest in the world. In the southcentral area of the NWT lies Great Slave Lake, the tenth largest in the world. Both drain to the northwest via the Mackenzie River watershed to the Arctic Ocean.

In the southwest part of the territories, the Nahanni River is known for the spectacular Virginia Falls, which are twice the height of Niagara Falls. The river is also popular for whitewater rafting through Painted Canyon. The Nahanni River also feeds the Mackenzie River watershed.

The Mackenzie River is the longest in North America, at 4,241 kilometers (2,635 miles). Longer than the United States' Mississippi River by about 459 kilometers (285 miles), the Mackenzie is generally considered the ninth longest in the world (although the measurement of rivers is generally an inexact science, as many constantly change course).

The land just south of Great Slave Lake is one of the only areas in the NWT that is free of permafrost. Another relatively fertile area is the Mackenzie Lowlands, in the west central portion of the NWT.

National Parks: National parks in the NWT include Aulavik National Park of Canada, which takes up nearly half of Banks Island; Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and Tuktut Nogait National Park of Canada, home to the bluenose caribou herd.

Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada's largest and one of the largest national parks in the world. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains one of the largest free-roaming bison herds in the world. The park is also home to an endangered species of whooping crane and vast undisturbed expanses of boreal wilderness known as "taiga."

Plants and Animals: Much of the area of the NWT is devoid of trees even below the Arctic Circle, due to poor soil or higher elevations. The best stands of trees are dominated by spruce, pine, birch, and larch.

Much of the land is tundra, an arctic plain of shrubs, grasses, lichens, and mosses that runs across a rock ledge known as the Canadian Shield.

Common animals found in the southern part of the NWT include caribou, moose, grizzly and black bears, and wolves. To the north, caribou are joined by musk ox, polar bears, arctic fox, Dall's sheep, and tundra swans.

Once mainly known as a fur-trapping area, the NWT are also home to beaver, lynx, marten, mink, and muskrat. While hunting is still common in the area, sport fishing is also popular in the NWT's many lakes. Arctic char, trout, pickerel, and pike are among the fish commonly found in the territories' waters.

The NWT are also home to many animals that can threaten humans. In addition to the larger mammals such as bear and wild bison, the summer months can bring swarms of biting insects, especially mosquitoes and black flies.

Climate: The climate of the NWT is uniformly cold, ranging from subarctic to arctic. In Yellowknife, the average January temperature is −25.6 degrees Celsius (−14 degrees Fahrenheit). For the NWT as a whole, the January average is −29 degrees Celsius (−20 degrees Fahrenheit), with lows often dipping to −51 degrees Celsius (−60 degrees Fahrenheit). Northern inland temperatures are usually lower than those of the islands, due to moderation by ocean currents.

July temperatures are mild to the south near Hay River, averaging about 16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the growing season is a scant seventy days, with only the months of July and August totally free of nightly frost. To the north, there is no growing season, as summer temperatures average only about 5 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit). Water in this area is often ice-covered for the entire year. Even near Yellowknife, lakes are often covered by several inches of ice by early November.

Between 1981 and 2010, Fort Smith on the far southern border with Alberta recorded both the NWT's highest and lowest temperatures: 35.3 degrees Celsius (95.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and −53.9 degrees Celsius (−65 degrees Fahrenheit), respectively. These extremes are due to prevailing winds that sweep down from the arctic through the center of North America.

Rain and snow are light in the NWT, as it is often too cold to support precipitation. Average annual precipitation is only 28.07 centimeters (11 inches) in Yellowknife and 24.84 centimeters (9.7 inches) in Inuvik.

Economy

Historically, the economy of the NWT has been based on fishing, hunting, and trapping. European trapping firms came to the area in the late eighteenth century, and fur-trapping continues to supplement the income of Aboriginal peoples in the area, as does craft work, such as soapstone carving.

While sawmills are able to provide for local needs, local agriculture is not. Most food and meat other than fish has to be imported, thus driving up prices.

The Canadian government is the largest supporter of the NWT economy. However, exploitation of mineral resources is by far its largest commercial sector, directly accounting for about one-third of the NWT's $3.9 billion annual gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017. The most valuable mined products include zinc, oil, gold, lead, natural gas, and silver.

A gold rush hit the Yellowknife area in the 1930s. At the same time, lead, zinc, radium (later uranium), and silver mining began in the Great Bear Lake region. Cadmium, copper, and tungsten are also mined in the NWT.

The principal roadblock to the development of the territories' natural resources has been high production costs due to the remoteness of the area. The Canadian government has helped further exploration of natural gas and oil fields by building new roads along the western Arctic coast.

In 1996, a new diamond mining site was opened approximately 296 kilometers (185 miles) northeast of Yellowknife. Supporters of this site promote their product as being more socially responsible than diamonds mined with slave labor in other parts of the world.

Hydroelectric power is common in the NWT, taking advantage of the extensive river system. Small diesel-run electric plants make up most of the remainder of power plants.

Tourism: Sport fishing and big-game hunting have traditionally brought a few hardy tourists to the NWT. More recently, adventure tourism, including white-water rafting, canoeing, and hiking, has grown in popularity. The Nahanni and Wood Buffalo National Parks are among the most visited tourist destinations.

Transportation: Surface transportation is limited in the NWT, making air routes important. The largest airports are in Yellowknife and Inuvik, although smaller planes can fly to almost all NWT towns. Highway projects begun in the 1970s and 1980s extended the southern road system.

Water transportation is also common, primarily along the Mackenzie River. Freight can move the entire stretch of the NWT to the Arctic Ocean but only during the summer months, when the water is free of ice. Specially designed snow tractors can move heavy freight during the winter months. Snowmobiles have replaced dog sleds for personal transport in remote areas.

Government & History

Government: Because they are a territory rather than a province, the NWT have limited national representation, with only one member in the Canadian Parliament and one senator.

The commissioner for the NWT, under the auspices of the federal government in Ottawa, is responsible for administering the territories. However, local control is left to the elected territorial administration in Yellowknife. The Canadian government still actively manages territorial land rights.

The elected territorial assembly is made up of nineteen members, who serve four-year terms. There are no party politics in the NWT assembly. Instead, it works under a consensus system, meaning all members are elected as independent candidates from their districts.

The assembly is headed by a premier elected by its members. A speaker is also elected, and six cabinet ministers are appointed. The NWT judiciary is appointed by the Canadian governor-general.

Aboriginal land claims, which began in the 1970s, threw the NWT into political turmoil during the latter half of the twentieth century. The western arctic Inuvialuit were granted an area of 90,600 square kilometers (34,981 square miles) in 1984. Other claims followed, with similar settlements. These are not reservations but are largely sovereign territories. The largest settlement by far was the 1993 agreement with the eastern arctic Inuit for the creation of the Nunavut territory, as enacted in 1999.

History: Ancestors of the Dene people are thought to have populated the Mackenzie watershed for the past ten thousand years. Ancestors of the Inuit people of the eastern arctic are thought to have crossed over the Bering Strait from Siberia.

Vikings visited the area many times after 1000 CE, and early European explorers recorded trips to the region as early as the late sixteenth century.

However, it was Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie who charted what became known as the Mackenzie River and who put the Northwest Territories on the map in 1789. Mackenzie's employer, the North West Company, was bought out by the Hudson's Bay Company, which laid claim to the area for most of the nineteenth century. Whaling fleets also worked the arctic waters to the north.

In 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company ceded the territory to the newly established Canadian Confederation. Manitoba and the Yukon became separate territories by 1889, followed by Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905. In 1912, the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec were enlarged, leaving the NWT with their pre-1999 borders; in 1999, the creation of Nunavut roughly halved the land area of the NWT.

The area was largely ignored by the Canadian government until oil was discovered along the Mackenzie River in the 1920s. A territorial government was then established to govern land claims and mineral rights. The NWT were an important source of oil for Canada and the United States during World War II.

Silver mining began as early as 1930 on Great Bear Lake, but it was the discovery of gold along Great Slave Lake in 1933 that assured Yellowknife would become both the population center and the territorial capital.

Practical governance was officially transferred from Ottawa to Yellowknife in 1967, and local control brought much needed improvements to health services and schools.

Trivia

• Following the creation of Nunavut, proposals were made to give the Northwest Territories an aboriginal name. Suggestions included the name "Denendeh," to reflect the heritage of the Dene people. Other less serious proposals included variations on the name "Nunavut," such as "Restavut," "Sumavut," and "Allavut."
• The NWT's license plate is shaped like a polar bear.

Bibliography

"Creation of a New Northwest Territories." Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

"Giant Mine Apology and Compensation Agreements with Yellowknives Dene First Nation." Government of Canada, 16 Aug. 2021, www.canada.ca/en/crown-indigenous-relations-northern-affairs/news/2021/08/giant-mine-apology-and-compensation-agreements-with-yellowknives-dene-first-nation.html. Accessed 9 Nov. 2021.

"Gross Domestic Product." NWT Bureau of Statistics, www.statsnwt.ca/economy/gdp/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2021.

"Facts about the NWT." Government of the Northwest Territories. Government of the Northwest Territories, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

Fischer, George. Canada's Exotic North: Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Halifax: Nimbus, 2015. Print.

Kuiper, Kathleen. Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, Subarctic, and Northwest Coast. New York: Rosen Educational Services, 2012. Digital file.

Olesen, Dave. Kinds of Winter: Four Solo Journeys by Dogteam in Canada's Northwest Territories. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2014. Print.

"Population Estimates, Quarterly." Statistics Canada, 8 Nov. 2021, www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901. Accessed 8 Nov. 2021.

Sandlos, John. Hunters at the Margin: Native People and Wildlife Conservation in the Northwest Territories. Vancouver: U of British Columbia P, 2008. Print.

Statistics Canada. "Census Profile, 2016 Census—Northwest Territories." Statistics Canada. Government of Canada, 2017, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E. Accessed 22 Aug. 2018.