Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

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Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Commissaire des Territoires
du Nord-Ouest
Badge of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.svg
Badge of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Flag of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.svg
Flag of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Incumbent
Gerald Kisoun
since 14 May 2024
Style Honourable
Appointer Governor-in-Council
Formation24 August 1905
First holder Frederick D. White
Website www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca

The commissioner of the Northwest Territories (French : Commissaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembly, swears in members of the executive council, assents to bills, opens sessions of the legislative assembly, and signs other government documents such as Orders in Council.

Contents

Earlier commissioners were mostly deputy ministers in various ministries (Minister of the Interior, Mines, Mines and Resources).

As commissioners are appointed by the Government of Canada, they are not a vice-regal representative in the territory — that is, unlike in Canada's provinces, there is no such thing as a "territorial Crown" analogous to the provincial Crowns. The commissioner represents the federal government and must follow any instructions of the Cabinet or the relevant federal minister, currently the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.

Since 1980, the territories have had self-government, with the legislature choosing a government leader or premier, in addition to electing members of parliament to the Parliament of Canada.

Commissioners of the NWT

FromToName
24 August 190527 September 1918 Frederick D. White
27 September 191831 March 1931 William Wallace Cory
31 March 19311 May 1934 Hugh H. Rowatt
1 May 19343 December 1936vacant (Roy A. Gibson acting)
3 December 193614 January 1947 Charles Camsell
14 January 194714 November 1950 Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside
14 November 195015 November 1953 Hugh Andrew Young
15 November 195312 July 1963 Robert Gordon Robertson
12 July 19632 March 1967 Bent Gestur Sivertz
2 March 196715 April 1979 Stuart Milton Hodgson
15 April 19792 October 1989 John Havelock Parker
2 October 198916 January 1995 Daniel L. Norris
16 January 199526 March 1999 Helen Maksagak
26 March 199931 March 2000 Daniel Joseph Marion
31 March 20007 April 2005 Glenna Hansen
29 April 200528 May 2010 Tony Whitford
28 May 201010 May 2016 [1] George Tuccaro
10 May 201618 September 2017vacant (Gerald W. Kisoun acting)
18 September 201714 May 2024 Margaret M. Thom
14 May 2024Incumbent Gerald Kisoun

Deputy commissioners

See also

References

  1. "Michael Mcleod".