The Northwest Territories is a federal territory 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 is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of the second quarter of 2024 is 44,920. Yellowknife is the capital,most populous community,and 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 the Carrothers Commission.
Events from the year 1879 in Canada.
Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew is a Canadian politician,educator,and public servant. She became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1988 when she became a member of Parliament for the district of Western Arctic in the Northwest Territories. She is also the first Indigenous woman to be a Canadian Cabinet Minister.
Stuart Milton Hodgson OC was the commissioner of the Northwest Territories (NWT) from March 2,1967 until April 6,1979. The first Commissioner to actually reside in the Northwest Territories,he was a leader in the construction of a semiautonomous,responsible self-government run by residents of the territory. He was appointed as a citizenship judge in British Columbia in December 1997 and served until 2005. Born in Vancouver,British Columbia,the second son of Allan and Mary Hodgson,Hodgson was one of the founders of the Arctic Winter Games - which began in Yellowknife in 1970 for athletes from Alaska,Yukon,and the NWT –and which now also include Greenland,parts of Arctic Russia,as well as Northern Alberta and Nunavik,and the new territory Nunavut which was formed from NWT in 1999. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 18,1970 for his service to labour and government. Subsequently he received the Queen's commemorative medals for her silver,golden,and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012);as well as the Canada 125 medal in 1992.
The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly,or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories,is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a unicameral elected body that creates and amends law in the Northwest Territories. Permanently located in Yellowknife since 1993,the assembly was founded in 1870 and became active in 1872 with the first appointments from the Government of Canada.
Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside,CC was a Canadian university professor,diplomat,and civil servant. He was the Canadian ambassador to Mexico from 1944 to 1947,and the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from January 14,1947 to September 15,1950.
Fort Providence is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories,Canada. Located west of Great Slave Lake,it has all-weather road connections by way of the Yellowknife Highway branch off the Mackenzie Highway,and the Deh Cho Bridge opened November 30,2012,near Fort Providence over the Mackenzie. The bridge replaced the ice bridge and ferry,enabling year-round crossing of the river.
Anthony Wilfred James Whitford is a retired Canadian politician,who served as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2005 to 2010.
General Ramsey Muir Withers,CMM,CD was a Canadian Army Officer and Chief of the Defence Staff,the highest ranking position in the Canadian Forces,from 1980 to 1983. He died of a heart attack in 2014.
Behchokǫ̀,officially the Tłı̨chǫCommunity Government of Behchokǫ̀, is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories,Canada. Behchokǫ̀is located on the Yellowknife Highway,on the northwest tip of Great Slave Lake,approximately 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Yellowknife.
Charles Camsell was a Canadian geologist and the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from December 3,1936,to December 3,1946.
Michael McLeod is a Canadian politician,currently serving as a member of Parliament representing the Northwest Territories. He was first elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election,unseating Dennis Bevington,who was the incumbent New Democratic Party MP for the riding. McLeod was a former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories,Canada,as well as the former mayor of Fort Providence.
Robert R. McLeod is a former Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 2007 to 2019,and served as the 12th premier of the Northwest Territories,from October 26,2011 to October 24,2019.
The South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC) is the organizational entity responsible for the administration of public schools within the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories,Canada. Its responsibility includes all schools within the five communities of the South Slave. Specifically,it is responsible for schools in the communities of Fort Resolution,Fort Smith,K'atl'odeche First Nation,Hay River,and Łutselk'e. Given the vast distances between communities,and the relatively small populations,the eight schools of the South Slave range in enrolment from 60 to 250 students. Although considered part of the South Slave Region by other departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories,the communities of Fort Providence and Kakisa are served by the Deh Cho Divisional Education Council and not the SSDEC.
Sharon Firth is a Canadian former cross-country skier who competed in the Winter Olympics in 1972,1976,1980 and 1984. Firth's mother was Gwich'in and her father was Métis. She and her sister grew up in the Gwich'in First Nation.
Violet Elizabeth Dowdeswell is a Canadian public servant who served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Ontario from 2014 to 2023. As lieutenant governor,Dowdeswell was the viceregal representative of the Crown in Right of Ontario and the first in over seven decades to serve under two different Canadian sovereigns. A champion of democracy and civil society,she is also the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Ontario's history.
Bertha Allen was a Vuntut Gwitchin women's rights and aboriginal rights advocate.
Gerald W. Kisoun is the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories since 2024. He was the deputy commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2011 to 2017. He served as acting commissioner of the Northwest Territories between the retirement of George Tuccaro on 10 May 2016 and the appointment of Margaret Thom in June 2017.
Diane Archie,formerly Diane Thom,is a Canadian politician in the Northwest Territories. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and the current Deputy Premier of the Northwest Territories.
Meika McDonald,a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation living in Fort Smith Northwest Territories has won 34 medals while participating in Arctic Sports competitions over ten Arctic Winter Games (1998-2006). She set three Arctic Winter Games records in Alaskan high kick and triple jump. McDonald was a recipient of the Sport North Federation's Mary Beth Miller Memorial Senior Female Athlete of the Year in 1998. She became a director for the Arctic Winter Games International Committee in 2007,and was inducted into the NWT Sport Hall of Fame in 2015 for her athletic accomplishments in Arctic Sports. She was awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service Medal in 2017.
Canada
Northwest Territories
