Northwest Territories jurisdictional boundaries plebiscite, 1992

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A plebiscite on the boundary between Northwest Territories and the new territory of Nunavut was held in the Northwest Territories on 4 May 1992. [1] The proposed border was approved by 54% of voters. [1] A second referendum later in the year gave the final approval to the creation of the new territory. [2]

Northwest Territories Territory of Canada

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,144,000 km2 (442,000 sq mi) and a 2016 census population of 41,786, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of 2018 is 44,445. Yellowknife became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission.

Nunavut Territory of Canada

Nunavut is the newest, largest, and most northerly territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland in 1949.

Contents

Background

A 1982 referendum had approved the division of the Northwest Territories and the creation of a new territory, later to become Nunavut. The federal government gave a conditional agreement to the plan seven months later. [3] In December 1991 the federal government reached an agreement with the Inuit on their land claims, with the "Parker line" (named for former Commissioner John Havelock Parker who worked on establishing the borders) set as the boundary between the existing territory and the new one. [1]

The Government of Canada, officially Her Majesty's Government, is the federal administration of Canada. In Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. In both senses, the current construct was established at Confederation through the Constitution Act, 1867—as a federal constitutional monarchy, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block", of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The Crown is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Canadian government. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian Constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, and unwritten conventions developed over centuries.

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. The Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut family. Inuit Sign Language is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut.

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For8,34754.39
No7,00045.61
Invalid/blank votes124
Total15,471100
Registered voters/turnout27,85255.55
Source: Direct Democracy

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Northwest Territories (Canada), 4 May 1992: Border with Nunavut Direct Democracy (in German)
  2. Nunavut (Canada), 5 November 1992: Creation of Nunavut Direct Democracy (in German)
  3. Peter Jull. "Building Nunavut: A Story of Inuit SelfGovernment". The Northern Review No. 1 (Summer 1988). Yukon College. pp. 59–72. Retrieved February 16, 2009.