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 44,936. 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 the Carrothers Commission.
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This area covers about 48 per cent of Canada's total land area, but has less than 0.5 per cent of Canada's population.
Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River.
Inuvik is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as the region's administrative and service centre. Inuvik is home to federal, territorial, and Indigenous government offices, along with a regional hospital and airport.
Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the deepest lake in North America at 614 m (2,014 ft), and the tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It is 469 km (291 mi) long and 20 to 203 km wide. It covers an area of 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi) in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from 1,070 km3 (260 cu mi) to 1,580 km3 (380 cu mi) and up to 2,088 km3 (501 cu mi) making it the 10th or 12th largest by volume.
Area code 867 is the area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the three Canadian territories, all of which are in Northern Canada. The area code was created on October 21, 1997, by combining regions that were previously served with area code 403 and area code 819 in one numbering plan area (NPA). As the least populated NPA in mainland North America, serving about 130,000 people, it is geographically the largest, at 3,921,739 km2 (1,514,192 sq mi), with Alaska (907) a distant second.
Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region of Quebec, as well as southern destinations such as Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa. It also has an interlining agreement with Air Greenland.
Northwestel Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and part of northern British Columbia and northern Alberta. Originally established in 1979 by the Canadian National Railway from CN's northern telecommunications assets, it has been owned by BCE Inc. since 1988.
The history of Northwest Territories capital cities begins with the purchase of the Territories by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869, and includes a varied and often difficult evolution. Northwest Territories is unique amongst the other provinces and territories of Canada in that it has had seven capital cities in its history. The territory has changed the seat of government for numerous reasons, including civil conflict, development of infrastructure, and a history of significant revisions to its territorial boundaries.
CBC North is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television service for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon of Northern Canada as well as Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec.
The Snowking Winter Festival is an annual festival held each March in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada since 1996.
Behchokǫ̀, officially the Tłı̨chǫ Community Government of Behchokǫ̀, is a community in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Behchokǫ̀ is located on the Yellowknife Highway, on the northwest tip of Great Slave Lake, approximately 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Yellowknife.
The history of the Northwest Territories covers the period from thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands that encompass present-day Northwest Territories were inhabited for millennia by several First Nations. European explorers and fur traders began to explore the region since the late-16th century. By the 17th century, the British laid claim to both the North-Western Territory and Rupert's Land; and granted the Hudson's Bay Company a commercial fur trade monopoly over the latter region.
Arctic Co-operatives Limited is a cooperative federation owned and controlled by 32 community-based cooperative business enterprises located in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon and northern Manitoba, Canada. Arctic Co-ops coordinates resources, consolidates the purchasing power and provides operational and technical support to the community-based co-operatives to enable them to provide a wide range of services to their local member-owners. Arctic Co-ops operates in both English and Inuktitut and provides patronage dividends to the local members.
Joint Task Force (North) (French: Force opérationnelle interarmées (Nord)) is responsible for all Canadian Armed Forces operations and administration in northern Canada, namely Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the waters of the Arctic Ocean (within Canada) and Hudson Bay. JTFN is headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and is part of Canadian Joint Operations Command.
The Yellowknife Education District No. 1map 1 is the public school board in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The district, then called Yellowknife School District No. 1, was created 1 October 1939 by Charles Camsell who was Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
The Yellowknifer is a newspaper based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and owned by Northern News Services.
NNSL Media is a news and media company based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It is one of the few remaining independent newspaper companies in Canada, producing all-original content with little to no reliance on syndicated news. NNSL publishes seven different papers weekly: Kivalliq News, Yellowknifer, News/North.
The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) is the Government of the Northwest Territories' museum and archives. Located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, the PWNHC acquires and manages objects and archival materials that represent the cultures and history of the Northwest Territories (NWT), plays a primary role in documenting and providing information about the cultures and history of the NWT, and provides a professional museum, archives and cultural resource management services to partner organizations.
This timeline of Yellowknife history summarises key events in the history of Yellowknife, a city in the Northwest Territories, Canada.
