Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System

Last updated
Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System
Founded1923
Defunct1960
Headquarters Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
ServicesRadio Network

The Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System was a radio service spanning the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, in existence from 1923 until 1959. It was created for easy communication between the towns or outposts and the rest of the country and was disbanded in 1959 when the system stations were taken over by the Department of Transport.

The NWT&Y Radio System was created in 1923 after the Department of the Interior, realizing the possibilities of wireless telegraphy to cover the vast areas of the northland, requested the Defence Department consider the installation of Army Radio stations to provide a reliable and rapid means of communication. At that time the only means of communication with civilization, or "outside" as it was known, was a limited mail service by boat in summer and dog-team in winter and an unreliable wire telegraph service from Dawson City, Yukon to Hazelton, British Columbia operated by the Dominion Government Telegraph Service.

The first connection was established between Dawson City and Mayo (both in Yukon), in 1923, by the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS). [1] [2] It was the first wireless radio service to offer communications between the North and the rest of Canada. Although originally built to aid in the administration of the North as well as to facilitate commercial development of the area, the radio system exceeded its original intent by providing communities with both a social centre and a lifeline to link isolated northern communities to one another as well as to the rest of the world. [3]

Once established, the system expanded very quickly and, by 1948, there were 23 northern stations in operation. [4] The number of stations varied over the years expanding and contracting in response to commercial and industrial development. [5]

In addition to the radio-telegraph, the system also provided other services to the general public. From 1938 until 1942, under an agreement with Alberta Government Telephones, a radiotelephone service was provided at the following RC Signals stations: Edmonton, McMurray, Fort Smith, Yellowknife and Goldfields. Repeater equipment was installed in the Edmonton Radio Station with connections to the offices of the Alberta Government Telephones from where local or long distance connections were made in the normal manner. At the northern stations, telephone booths were installed and tied in with the HF transmitting and receiving equipment. It was greeted and used enthusiastically by mining and transportation companies particularly as well as the general public, for both business and social calls.

Another service provided by staff at many of the RC Signals stations was a local radio broadcast service that enabled those in the community to listen to news, weather and music. Starting on 1 April 1949 the NWT&Y Radio System started rebroadcasting the full daily program of the CBC (7 a.m.-midnight). A connection was made between the CBC studios in the MacDonald Hotel and the transmitter site of the Edmonton Radio Station which rebroadcast on 8265 Kcs using a 5 kilowatt Marconi TH41 transmitter. At those stations where RC Signals were operating low-power broadcast transmitters for the benefit of their communities, 8265 Kcs was monitored and the CBC programs again re-broadcast on the local standard broadcast frequency. [6]

Starting in the early 1950s, some of the stations were handed over the Department of Transport. By 1960 all the stations had been handed over or closed, signalling the end of the military control of these stations, and the start of the civilian control. The Department of Transport continued to run the telegraph stations for a time and CBC took command of broadcasting their programming to these towns, leading to the creation of CBC North. [7]

NWT&Y Radio System Stations

Town/OutpostDate OpenedDate Closed/TransferredSpecific Purpose
Aklavik 19251959, Transferred to CBCWeather, Contact
Baker Lake 19451949, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather
Beaverlodge 19451959, Transferred to the Department of Transport Eldorado Mine
Brochet 19481956, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact
Burwash Landing 19351939, Closed due to the Second World WarWeather, Contact
Cameron Bay 19331960, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Eldorado Mine
Camsell River 19321936, Along with the closure of the minesWhite Eagle Silver Mines
Chipewyan 19331958, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Communications
Dawson 19231960, Transferred to the Department of TransportContact, Communication, CFYT-FM
Edmonton 19241959, Transferred to the Department of TransportHeadquarters of the Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System
Embarras 19441952, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact
Ennadai Lake 19491954, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather
Gordon Lake 19371939, With the closure of the Camlaren Mines Unknown
Goldfields 19361939, With the outbreak of the Second World WarMultiple mining companies including Consolidated Mining & Smelting, Athona, Greenlee, Murmac, Athabasca Portals
Fort Good Hope 19441959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact
Grande Prairie 19391947Never used due to the Second World War
Hay River 19441958, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact, Communications
Herschel Island 19341938Communications
Inuvik 19571959, Transferred to the Department of TransportCommunications
Mayo 19231960, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact, Communications
McMurray 19331958, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact, Communications, Air Base
Fort Norman 19301959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Communications
Norman Wells 19431959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Imperial Oil
Norite Bay 19371937, With the closure of the Fondulac MinesContact, Communications with Fondulac Mines
North Battleford 19381939, With the outbreak of the Second World War Relay Station
Outpost Island 19361938, With the closure of the Slave Lake Gold MinesServiced the Slave Lake Gold Mines
Pensive Lake 19391939, With the closure of the Domie MinesServiced Domie Mining
Fort Providence 19391959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, assist air and water transportation up and down the Mackenzie River
Port Radium 19321960, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Communications, Eldorado Mine
Fort Rae 19311937, Moved to YellowstoneWeather, Contact, Communications
Fort Resolution 19271960, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Communications
Fort Reliance 19481959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather
Fort Simpson 19241959, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact, Main relay point for Yukon
Fort Smith 19241958, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Contact, Administrative Headquarters for Northwest Territories
Snare River 19461949, Upon the completion of the Snare River Hydro ProjectCommunications, Snare River Hydro Project
Thompson Lake 19391939, With the outbreak of the Second World WarCommunications, Regional mining Companies
Tuktoyaktuk 19351939, With the outbreak of the Second World WarSeasonal support to Hudson Bay Company
Whitehorse 19351951, Transferred to the Canadian Army Signal System (CASS)Weather, Contact, Communications
Wrigley 19421955, Transferred to the Department of TransportWeather, Canadian Airways landing strip
Yellowknife 19371959, Transferred to the Department of TransportCommunications for the town and regional mining

The above table based on information from the Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System History Project. [8]

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References

  1. "A HUNDRED YEARS OF MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS". C&E Museum. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  2. Pigott, Peter (2011). From Far and Wide: A History of Canada's Arctic Sovereignty. Toronto: Dundurn Press. pp. 123–4. ISBN   9781554889891.
  3. "Parks Canada News Releases - Andy Mitchell Announces Heritage Designations" . Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. "Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre Historical Timeline of the Northwest Territories" . Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. Eyre, Kenneth (December 1987). "Forty Years of Military Activity in the Canadian North, 1947-87" (PDF). Arctic. 40 (4): 292–299. doi:10.14430/arctic1786 . Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  6. "History of the Northwest Territories Yukon and Radio System". WO1 Cal Vince. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. Maclennon, Anne F. (2011). "Cultural Imperialism of the North? The Expansion of the CBC Northern Service and Community Radio". The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media. 9 (1): 66–67.
  8. "NWT and Y History project - Stations". rcsigs.ca. Retrieved 24 April 2017.