Demographics of the Northwest Territories

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The Northwest Territories is a territory of Canada. It has an area of 1,171,918 square kilometres and a population of 41,786 as of the 2016 Canadian census.

Contents

Population history

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Canada provinces evolution 2.gif
Timeline of the divisions of Canada; size of the Northwest Territories changes throughout 1870 to 1999, introducing large instant changes in its population
Census yearPopulation5-year % change10-year % changeRank among provinces and territoriesNotes on changes impacting area and attendant population, and count provinces and territories
1871 48,000n/an/a5
188156,446n/a17.67
  • In 1874, NWT ceded land to the expansion of the province of Ontario.
  • In 1876, NWT ceded land to the creation of District of Keewatin.
  • In 1880, NWT gained the British Arctic Territories, transferred to Canada from the United Kingdom.
  • In 1881, NWT ceded land to the expansion of Manitoba.
  • In 1881, Canada had 2 territories and 7 provinces
189198,967n/a75.37
  • In 1886, NWT gained land back from District of Keewatin.
  • In 1891, Canada had 2 territories and 7 provinces
1901184,430n/a86.46
  • In 1895, NWT ceded land to the expansion of District of Keewatin.
  • In 1898, NWT ceded land to the creation of Yukon Territory and the expansion of the province of Quebec.
  • In 1901, Canada had 3 territories and 7 provinces
1911 6,507n/a-96.511
  • In 1905, NWT ceded land to the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, while District of Keewatin rejoined NWT.
  • In 1906, North-West Territories renamed Northwest Territories (NT) [1]
  • In 1911, Canada had 2 territories and 9 provinces
1921 8,143n/a25.110
  • In 1912, NT ceded land to the expansion of the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
  • In 1921, Canada had 2 territories and 9 provinces
1931 9,316n/a14.410
  • In censuses of 1931 and 1941, Canada had 2 territories and 9 provinces
1941 12,028n/a29.110
1951 16,004n/a33.110
  • In censuses of 1951 through 1996, Canada had 2 territories and 10 provinces
195619,31320.7n/a11
196122,99819.143.711
196628,73825.048.811
197134,80721.151.311
197642,60922.448.311
198145,7407.331.411
198652,23514.222.611
1991 57,64910.326.011
1996 64,40211.723.211
2001 37,360-42.0-35.211
  • In 1999, NT ceded land to the creation of Nunavut.
  • In 2001, Canada had 3 territories and 10 provinces
2006 41,46411.0-35.611
  • Since 2001 census, Canada has 3 territories and 10 provinces
2011 41,4620.010.911
2016 41,7860.10.111
2021 41,070-1.7-0.911

Source: Statistics Canada, [2] [3] [4] [5] with Social Science Federation of Canada for 1871–1901 [6]

Population geography

Ten largest population centres

Ten largest municipalities by population
Municipality2011200620011996
Yellowknife 19,23418,70016,54117,275
Hay River 3,6063,6483,5103,611
Inuvik 3,4633,4842,8943,296
Fort Smith 2,0932,3642,1852,441
Behchokǫ̀ 1,9261,8941,5521,662
Fort Simpson 1,2381,2161,1631,257
Tuktoyaktuk 854870930943
Fort McPherson 792776761878
Fort Providence 734727753748
Norman Wells 727761666798

Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples

Indigenous identity by community, 2021 NWT Indigenous identity 2021.svg
Indigenous identity by community, 2021
Visible minority and Indigenous population (2021 Canadian census) [7]
Population groupPopulation %
European [lower-alpha 1] 15,43038.2%
Visible minority group South Asian 7701.9%
Chinese 3350.8%
Black 1,0602.6%
Filipino 1,6654.1%
Arab 2250.6%
Latin American 1250.3%
Southeast Asian 3050.8%
West Asian 350.1%
Korean 750.2%
Japanese 1050.3%
Visible minority, n.i.e.500.1%
Multiple visible minorities 1700.4%
Total visible minority population4,91512.2%
Indigenous group First Nations (North American Indian) 12,31530.5%
Métis 2,8907.2%
Inuk (Inuit) 4,15010.3%
Multiple Indigenous responses4051.0%
Indigenous responses n.i.e.2700.7%
Total Indigenous population20,03549.6%
Total population40,380100.0%

Languages

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 Territories's Official Languages Act recognizes the following eleven official languages, which is more than any other political division in Canada: [8]

NWT residents have a right to use any of the above languages in a territorial court and in debates and proceedings of the legislature. However, laws are legally binding only in their French and English versions, and the 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 significant demand for that language or where it is reasonable to expect it given the nature of the services requested. In reality, this means that 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 2006 Canadian census showed a population of 41,464. Of the 40,680 singular responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue' the most commonly reported languages (official languages in bold) were:

Mother tongueSpeakersShare
1.English31,54577.54%
2.Athapaskan languages4,71011.58%
Dogrib1,9504.79%
South Slavey1,2853.16%
North Slavey8352.05%
Chipewyan3900.96%
Gwich'in1900.47%
Dene500.12%
3.French9752.40%
4.Inuktitut6951.71%
5.Malayo-Polynesian languages5301.30%
Tagalog5051.24%
6.Vietnamese3050.75%
7.Chinese2600.64%
Cantonese1200.29%
8.Algonquian languages2500.61%
Cree1900.47%
Ojibway350.09%
9.German1900.47%
10=Arabic1050.26%
10=Creole1050.26%
12.Dutch950.23%
13.Spanish900.22%
14.Niger-Congo languages800.20%
Bantu languages550.14%
15.Yugoslavian languages600.15%
16=Inuinnaqtun550.14%
16=Italian550.14%

There were also about 40 single-language responses for Ukrainian; 35 for the Scandinavian languages, Slovak and Urdu; and 30 for Hungarian, the Iranian languages and Polish. In addition, there were also 320 responses of both English and a 'non-official language'; 15 of both French and a 'non-official language; 45 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 unenumerated response. The Northwest Territories' official languages are shown in bold. Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.) [9]

Religion

Religious beliefs in NWT (2011 census) [10]
ReligionAdherents % of the population
Christianity 27,050
Irreligious 12,450
Traditional (Aboriginal) Spirituality500
Islam 275
Buddhism 170
Hinduism 70
Judaism 40
Sikhism 20
Other religions220
Total40,800

Migration

Immigration

Northwest Territories immigration [11] :239 [12] :108
YearImmigrant percentageImmigrant populationTotal population
188145356,446
189118,71298,967
190114720,129
19111166,507
19212078,143
19315349,316
194181812,028
19511,04216,004
19611,96322,998
19712,24534,810

The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 4,145 persons or 10.3 percent of the total population of the Northwest Territories. [13]

Immigrants in Northwest Territories by country of birth
Country of Birth2021 [13] 2016 [14] 2011 [15] [16] 2006 [17] [18] 2001 [19] [20]
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
Philippines1,175955630555355
United Kingdom275320280340460
India265180703055
United States of America175220225235215
Vietnam16517595245140
Germany115125110130145
China10011017010060
South Africa9040354050
Zimbabwe80701451010
Bangladesh80950100
Total immigrants4,1453,6852,8802,8102,380
Total responses40,37541,13540,80041,06037,100
Total population41,07041,78641,46241,46437,360

Recent immigration

The 2021 Canadian census counted a total of 810 people who immigrated to the Northwest Territories between 2016 and 2021. [13]

Recent immigrants to Northwest Territories by country of birth (2016 to 2021) [13]
Country of birthPopulation% recent immigrants
Philippines275
India95
Sudan35
Syria35
South Africa25
France25
China20
Zimbabwe20
Bangladesh20
Pakistan20
Jamaica20
Somalia20
Eritrea20
Ethiopia20
Total810

Internal migration

Net cumulative interprovincial migration per Province from 1997 to 2017, as a share of population of each Provinces Net cumulative interprovincial migration, 1997 to 2017, as a share of population, 2016.png
Net cumulative interprovincial migration per Province from 1997 to 2017, as a share of population of each Provinces

A total of 12,100 people moved to the Northwest Territories from other parts of Canada between 1996 and 2006 while 15,955 people moved in the opposite direction. These movements resulted in a net influx of 825 from Newfoundland and Labrador, 295 from Nunavut, 235 from Quebec and 195 from Nova Scotia; and a net outmigration of 3,955 to Alberta, 705 to British Columbia, 260 to Manitoba, 245 to Ontario and 230 to the Yukon. (All inter-provincial movements and official minority movements of more than 100 persons are given.) [21] [22]

See also

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NWT-Canada-territory.png
Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

Notes

  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.

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