TheNorthwest Territories[b] is a federalterritory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,127,711.92 km2 (435,412.01 sq mi) and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it was the second-largest and the most populous ofthe three territories inNorthern Canada.[3] Its estimated population as of the third quarter of 2025 is 45,950 which would make it the second most populous of the three territories.[5]Yellowknife is the capital, most populous community, and the only city in the territory; its population was 20,340 as of the 2021 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by theCarrothers Commission.
The Northwest Territories, a portion of the oldNorth-Western Territory, entered theCanadian Confederation on July 15, 1870. At first, it was named the North-West Territories. The name was changed to the present Northwest Territories in 1906.[12] Since 1870, the territory has been divided four times to create new provinces and territories or enlarge existing ones. Its current borders date from April 1, 1999, when the territory's size was decreased again by the creation of a new territory ofNunavut to the east, through theNunavut Act and theNunavut Land Claims Agreement.[13][14] While Nunavut is mostlyArctictundra, the Northwest Territories has a slightly warmer climate and is bothboreal forest (taiga) andtundra, and its most northern regions form part of theArctic Archipelago.
The Northwest Territories has the most interprovincial and inter-territorial land borders among all provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered by the territories ofNunavut to the east andYukon to the west, and by the provinces ofBritish Columbia,Alberta, andSaskatchewan to the south; it also touchesManitoba to the southeast at aquadripoint that includes Nunavut and Saskatchewan. The land area of the Northwest Territories is roughly equal to that of France, Portugal and Spain combined, although its overall area is even larger because of its vast lakes.
The name was originally descriptive, adopted by theBritish government during thecolonial era to indicate where it lay in relation to the rest ofRupert's Land. It has been shortened fromNorth-Western Territory and thenNorth-West Territories.
InInuktitut, the Northwest Territories are referred to asNunatsiaq (Inuktitut syllabics ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ), "beautiful land".[15] The northernmost region of the territory is home to theInuvialuit, who primarily live in theInuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq), while the southern portion is calledDenendeh (anAthabaskan word meaning "our land").Denendeh is the vast Dene country, stretching from central Alaska toHudson Bay, within which lie the homelands of the numerous Dene nations.
Since the Yukon Territory was split from it in 1898, it is no longer the westernmost territory, and untilNunavut was split from it in 1999 it included territory extending as far east asCanada's Atlantic provinces.[16][17][18] There has been some discussion of changing the name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by the former premierStephen Kakfwi, among others.[19] One of the most popular proposals for a new name—to name the territory "Bob"—began as aprank, but for a while it was at or near the top in thepublic-opinion polls.[20][21][22]
Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories,Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, as well as four provinces:British Columbia to the southwest,Alberta andSaskatchewan to the south, and Manitoba (through aquadripoint) to the extreme southeast. It has a land area of 1,183,085 km2 (456,792 sq mi).[4]
The Northwest Territories extends for more than 1,300,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi) and has a large climate variance from south to north. The southern part of the territory (most of the mainland portion) has asubarctic climate, while the islands and northern coast have apolar climate.Northwest Territories Nominee Program (2025),Climate | Northwest Territories Nominee Program, retrievedAugust 12, 2025
Summers in the north are short and cool, featuring daytime highs of 14–17 °C (57–63 °F) and lows of 1–5 °C (34–41 °F). Winters are long and harsh, with daytime highs of −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) and lows of −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F). The coldest nights typically reach −40 to −45 °C (−40 to −49 °F) each year.[citation needed]
Extremes are common, with summer highs in the south reaching 36 °C (97 °F) and lows reaching below 0 °C (32 °F). In winter in the south, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −40 °C (−40 °F), but they can also reach the low teens during the day. In the north, temperatures can reach highs of 30 °C (86 °F), and lows into the low negatives. In winter in the north, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −50 °C (−58 °F) but they can also reach single digits during the day.[citation needed]
Thunderstorms are not rare in the south. In the north, they are very rare but do occur.[24]Tornadoes are extremely rare but have happened with the most notable one happening[when?] just outside Yellowknife that destroyed a communications tower.[citation needed] The Territory has a fairly dry climate due to the mountains in the west.[citation needed]
About half of the territory is above thetree line. There are not many trees in most of the eastern areas of the territory, or in the north islands.[25]
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Northwest Territories
In 1670, theHudson's Bay Company (HBC) was formed from a royal charter, and was granted a commercial monopoly overRupert's Land. Present day Northwest Territories laid northwest of Rupert's Land, and was known as theNorth-Western Territory. Although not formally part of Rupert's Land, the HBC made regular use of the region as a part of its trading area. TheTreaty of Utrecht saw the British become the only European power with practical access to theNorth-Western Territory, with the French surrendering their claim to the Hudson Bay coast.
Europeans have visited the region for the purposes offur trading, and exploration for new trade routes, including theNorthwest Passage. Arctic expeditions launched in the 19th century include theCoppermine expedition.
In 1867, the firstCanadian residential school opened in the region in Fort Resolution. The opening of the school was followed by several others in regions across the territory, thus contributing to it reaching the highest percentage of students in residential schools compared to other area in Canada.[38]
Timeline of the divisions of Canada; size of the Northwest Territories changes throughout 1870 to 1999
After the 1870 transfer, some of the North-West Territories was whittled away. The province ofManitoba was enlarged in 1881 to a rectangular region composing the modern province's south. By the time British Columbia joined Confederation on July 20, 1871, it had already (1866) been granted the portion of North-Western Territory south of60 degrees north and west of120 degrees west, an area that comprised most of theStickeen Territories (and a portion of the Peace River country).[citation needed]
A proclamation concerning the formation of the North-West Territories, from recently transferred territories to the Canadian government
The North-West Territories Council was created in 1875 for more local government in the North-West Territories.[40] At first wholly made up of appointed members, it got its first elected members in 1882 and became wholly elected in 1888 when the council was reorganized as the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories.Frederick Haultain, an Ontario lawyer who practised at Fort Macleod from 1884, became its chairman in 1891 and Premier when the Assembly was reorganized in 1897. The modern provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created in 1905. Contemporary records show Haultain recommended that part of the NWT split off to become the present provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan become a single province, named Buffalo. The long-serving NWT member for Yorkton, Dr.Thomas Alfred Patrick, supported the creation of two provinces in that area.[41] The Canadian government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier chose to draw up the provinces roughly according to Patrick's guidance.[42][43]
In the meantime, theBritish Arctic Territories were transferred to Canada and added to the North-West Territories in 1880. The province ofOntario was enlarged north-westward in 1882. Quebec was also extended northwards in 1898. Yukon was also made a separate territory that year and eventually gained additional territorial powers with the 2003Yukon Act.[44] One year after the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, theParliament of Canada renamed the "North-West Territories" as theNorthwest Territories, dropping allhyphenated forms of it.[45][46]
Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec acquired the last addition to their modern landmass from the Northwest Territories in 1912. This left only the districts ofMackenzie,Franklin (which absorbed the remnants ofUngava in 1920) andKeewatin within what was then given the name Northwest Territories. In 1925, the boundaries of the Northwest Territories were extended all the way to theNorth Pole on thesector principle, vastly expanding its territory onto the northernice cap.[citation needed] Between 1925 and 1999, the Northwest Territories covered a land area of 3,439,296 km2 (1,327,920 sq mi)—larger than one-third of Canada in terms of area.[citation needed]
On April 1, 1999, a separateNunavut territory was formed from the eastern Northwest Territories to represent the Inuit.[47]
The NWT is one of two jurisdictions in Canada – Nunavut being the other – whereIndigenous peoples are in the majority, constituting 50.4% of the population.[50]
According to the 2016 Canadian census, the 10 majorethnic groups were:[51]
Sign for an eye clinic inYellowknife with all 11 official territorial languages
French was made an official language in 1877 by the then-territorial government. After a lengthy and bitter debate resulting from aspeech from the throne in 1888 byLieutenant GovernorJoseph Royal, the members of the time voted on more than one occasion to nullify this and make English the only language used in the assembly. After some conflict with the Confederation Government inOttawa, and a decisive vote on January 19, 1892, the assembly members voted for an English-only territory.
Currently, the Northwest Territories'Official Languages Act recognizes the following elevenofficial languages:[8][9]
NWT residents have a right to use any of the above languages in a territorial court, and in the debates and proceedings of the legislature. However, the laws are legally binding only in their French and English versions, and theNWT government only publishes laws and other documents in the territory's other official languages when the legislature asks it to. Furthermore, access to services in any language is limited to institutions and circumstances where there is a significant demand for that language or where it is reasonable to expect it given the nature of the services requested. In practical terms, English language services are universally available, and there is no guarantee that other languages, including French, will be used by any particular government service, except for the courts.
The 2016 census returns showed a population of 41,786. Of the 40,565 singular responses to the census question regarding each inhabitant's "mother tongue", the most reported languages were the following (italics indicate an official language of the NWT):
There were also 630 responses of both English and a "non-official language"; 35 of both French and a "non-official language"; 145 of both English and French, and about 400 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave some other unenumerable response. (Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.)[52]
In the 2021 Census, 55.2% of the population followed Christianity (primarilyRoman Catholicism); this is down from 67.6% in the 2001 Census. At the same time, the population reported having no religious affiliation has more than doubled, from 17.4% in 2001 to 39.8% in 2021 census. About 5.0% reported other religious affiliations.[53][54]
As of 2014, there are 33 official communities in the NWT.[60] These range in size from Yellowknife with a population of 19,569[55] toKakisa with 36 people.[61] Governance of each community differs, some are run under various types of First Nations control, while others are designated as a city, town, village or hamlet, but most communities aremunicipal corporations.[60][62] Yellowknife is the largest community and has the largest number of Aboriginal peoples, 4,520 (23.4%) people.[63] However,Behchokǫ̀, with a population of 1,874,[64] is the largest First Nations community, 1,696 (90.9%),[65] andInuvik with 3,243 people[66] is the largest Inuvialuit community, 1,315 (40.5%).[67] There is oneIndian reserve in the NWT,Hay River Reserve, located on the south shore of theHay River.
Thegross domestic product of the Northwest Territories wasC$4.856 billion in 2017.[68] It has the highest per capita GDP of all provinces and territories in Canada, totallingC$76,000 in 2009.[69]
The Territories' geological resources include gold, diamonds,natural gas and petroleum.BP is the only oil company currently producing oil there. Its diamonds are promoted as an alternative to purchasingblood diamonds.[70] Two of the biggest mineral resource companies in the world,BHP andRio Tinto mine many of their diamonds there. In 2010, Territories' accounted for 28.5% of Rio Tinto's total diamond production (3.9 million carats, 17% more than in 2009, from theDiavik Diamond Mine) and 100% of BHP's (3.05 million carats from theEKATI mine).[71][72]
As a territory, the NWT has fewer rights than the provinces. 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.[73] Devolution of powers to the territory was an issue in the20th general election in 2003, and has been ever since the territory began electing members in 1881.
TheCommissioner of the NWT is the chief executive and is appointed by theGovernor-in-Council of Canada on the recommendation of the federalMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. The position used to be more administrative and governmental, but with the devolution of more powers to the elected assembly since 1967, the position has become symbolic. The commissioner had full governmental powers until 1980 when the territories were given greater self-government. The legislative assembly then began electing a cabinet andgovernment leader, later known as thepremier. Since 1985 the commissioner no longer chairs meetings of theexecutive council (or cabinet), and the federal government has instructed commissioners to behave like a provinciallieutenant governor. Unlike lieutenant governors, theCommissioner of the Northwest Territories is not a formal representative of theKing of Canada.[citation needed]
Unlike provincial governments and the government of Yukon, the government of the Northwest Territories does not have political parties. It never has had political parties except for the period between 1898 and 1905. Itslegislative assembly operates through theconsensus government model.The website of the NWT government describes consensus government thusly:"The Northwest Territories is one of only two jurisdictions in Canada with a consensus system of government instead of one based on party politics. In our system, all Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected as independents. Shortly after the election, all Members meet as a Caucus to set priorities for that Assembly. The Caucus remains active throughout their term as the forum where all Members meet as equals.[...]Compared to the party system, there is much more communication between Regular Members and Cabinet. All legislation, major policies, and proposed budgets pass through the Regular Members' standing committees before coming to the House."[74]
The NWT Legislative Assembly is composed of one member elected from each of the nineteen constituencies. Aftereach general election, the new assembly elects thepremier and thespeaker by secret ballot. Seven MLAs are also chosen as cabinet ministers, with the remainder forming the opposition.
Aboriginal issues in the Northwest Territories include the fate of theDene who, in the 1940s, were employed to carry radioactive uranium ore from the mines on Great Bear Lake. Of the thirty plus miners who worked at thePort Radium site, at least fourteen have died due to various forms of cancer. A study was done in the community ofDeline, calledA Village of Widows byCindy Kenny-Gilday, which indicated that the number of people involved were too small to be able to confirm or deny a link.[82][83]
Land claims in the NWT began with the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, signed on June 5, 1984. It was the first Land Claim signed in the Territory, and the second in Canada.[85] It culminated with the creation of the Inuit homeland of Nunavut, the result of theNunavut Land Claims Agreement, the largest land claim in Canadian history.[86]
Another land claims agreement with theTłı̨chǫ people created a region within the NWT calledTli Cho, between Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes, which gives the Tłı̨chǫ their own legislative bodies, taxes, resource royalties, and other affairs, though the NWT still maintains control over such areas as health and education. This area includes two of Canada's three diamond mines, at Ekati and Diavik.[87]
Dempster Highway, south ofInuvikEntering the Northwest Territories from Alberta on the MacKenzie Highway
Northwest Territories has nine numbered highways. The longest is theMackenzie Highway, which stretches from theAlberta Highway 35's northern terminus in the south at the Alberta – Northwest Territories border at the 60th parallel toWrigley, Northwest Territories in the north.Ice roads andwinter roads are also prominent and provide road access in winter to towns and mines which would otherwise befly-in locations.Yellowknife Highway branches out from Mackenzie Highway and connects it to Yellowknife.Dempster Highway is the continuation ofKlondike Highway. It starts just west ofDawson City, Yukon, and continues east for over 700 km (430 mi) to Inuvik. As of 2017, the all-seasonInuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway connects Inuvik to communities along the Arctic Ocean as an extension of the Dempster Highway.
Yellowknife did not have an all-season road access to the rest of Canada's highway network until the completion ofDeh Cho Bridge in 2012. Prior to that, traffic relied on ferry service in summer and ice road in winter to cross theMackenzie River. This became a problem during spring and fall time when the ice was not thick enough to handle vehicle load but the ferry could not pass through the ice, which would require all goods from fuel to groceries to be airlifted during the transition period.
The Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in North America to issue a non rectangular standard licence plate. Instead, the territory issues a licence plate shaped like a polar bear.
Yellowknife Airport is the largest airport in the territory in terms of aircraft movements and passengers. It is the gateway airport to other destinations within the Northwest Territories. As the airport of the territory capital, it is part of theNational Airports System. It is the hub of multiple regional airlines. Major airlines serving destinations within Northwest Territories includeBuffalo Airways,Canadian North,North-Wright Airways.
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