Yukon is the second most populous of Canada's three territories with 40,232 residents as of 2021. [1] It is the smallest territory in land area at 472,345 km2 (182,373 sq mi). [2] Yukon's eight municipalities cover only 0.2% of the territory's land mass [lower-alpha 1] but are home to 72.2% of its population. [1] [2] [4] The remainder of the territory's land area is unorganized.
Municipal governments are created by the Government of Yukon in accordance with the Municipal Act of 2001. [5] Municipal governments provide "jurisdiction services, facilities, or things that a local government considers necessary or desirable for all or part of its community". [5] Classifications of municipalities under the Municipal Act include cities and towns. [5] Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon and its only city. The remaining seven municipalities are towns, of which four were villages that were continued as towns upon adoption of the 2001 Municipal Act. [5]
Over two-thirds of the population of Yukon (28,201 residents; 70.1%) reside in Whitehorse, the largest municipality in the territory. [1] It is also the largest municipality by land area at 413.94 km2 (159.82 sq mi). [1] The smallest municipality by population and land area is Mayo, with 188 residents in 0.98 km2 (0.38 sq mi). [1]
A proposal to incorporate a community as a city can be initiated under the Municipal Act at the request of Yukon's Minister of Community Services, a municipal council, or a minimum 30% of residents that are eligible electors if the community has an estimated population over 2,500. [5] Cities must elect a mayor and six councillors (in the case of Whitehorse), or a mayor and eight councillors if authorized by bylaw, for a three-year term. [5] The only city in Yukon is Whitehorse, which is the largest of the three cities in Northern Canada's three territories. It had a population of 28,201 residents and a land area of 413.94 km2 (159.82 sq mi) in the 2021 Census. [1] The City of Dawson is a former city in Yukon that now has town status but is permitted to retain "city" in its official name. [5]
A proposal to incorporate a community as a town can be initiated under the Municipal Act at the request of the Minister of Community Services, a municipal council, or a minimum 30% of residents that are eligible electors if the community has an estimated population over 300. [5] Towns must elect a mayor and four councilors, or a mayor and five to seven councillors if authorized by bylaw, for a three-year term. [5]
All municipalities that were villages prior to the adoption of the 2001 Municipal Act were continued as towns but were permitted to retain "village" in their official names. [5] Yukon has seven towns. Dawson City is the territory's largest town by population with 1,577 residents and Faro is the largest by land area 199.89 km2 (77.18 sq mi). [1] Mayo is the smallest town by population and land area at 188 residents in 1.06 km2 (0.41 sq mi). [1]
Name | Status [4] | Official name | Incorporation date [6] | 2021 Census of Population [1] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population (2021) | Population (2016) | Change | Land area (km2) | Population density (/km2) | ||||
Carmacks | Town | Village of Carmacks | November 1, 1984 | 588 | 493 | +19.3% | 36.87 | 15.9 |
Dawson | Town | City of Dawson [lower-alpha 2] | January 9, 1902 | 1,577 | 1,375 | +14.7% | 30.91 | 51.0 |
Faro | Town | Town of Faro | June 13, 1969 | 440 | 348 | +26.4% | 199.89 | 2.2 |
Haines Junction | Town | Village of Haines Junction | October 1, 1984 | 688 | 613 | +12.2% | 34.30 | 20.1 |
Mayo | Town | Village of Mayo | June 1, 1984 | 188 | 200 | −6.0% | 0.98 | 191.8 |
Teslin | Town | Village of Teslin | August 1, 1984 | 239 | 255 | −6.3% | 3.77 | 63.4 |
Watson Lake | Town | Town of Watson Lake | April 1, 1984 | 1,133 | 1,083 | +4.6% | 109.77 | 10.3 |
Whitehorse | City | City of Whitehorse | June 1, 1950 | 28,201 | 25,085 | +12.4% | 413.94 | 68.1 |
Total municipalities | 33,054 | 29,452 | +12.2% | 830.43 | 39.8 | |||
Yukon | 40,232 | 35,874 | +12.1% | 472,345.44 | 0.1 | |||
Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as of March 2022. Whitehorse, the territorial capital, is the largest settlement in any of the three territories.
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yukon.
Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.
Keno City is a small community in Yukon, Canada at the end of the Silver Trail highway. Keno City was the site of a former silver-lead mining area proximal to Keno Hill. Keno City is 13 kilometres away from Elsa, Yukon, which is owned by Hecla mining who currently own and operate the various Ag-Pb-Zn deposits in the Keno Hill area. Rich silver and lead ore deposits were found on Keno Hill in 1919, and since then the population of the community has fluctuated in response to the mining activity in the area. When in 1989 United Keno Hill closed the mines, literally overnight, the people in the Keno area who decided to stay chose a more sustainable economy: tourism. They successfully marketed Keno City as a quiet, tranquil community.
Marsh Lake is an unincorporated community on the Alaska Highway on the shores of Marsh Lake southeast of Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon. The area was organized in 2001, as a local area council to help the residents with some form of municipal government.