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88-556: The Taiga Shield ecozone covers almost all of the eastern area of the Northwest Territories , a tiny corner of northeastern Alberta , a narrow strip of all northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Manitoba , as well as all some parts of southern Nunavut . Here, it is interrupted by Hudson Bay , where it abuts with the marine ecozone of the Arctic Archipelago Marine , and resumes on the eastern shores of Hudson Bay on

176-708: A holding company that was, until April 1, 2014, jointly owned by the Inuvialuit of the Northwest Territories and the Inuit of Nunavut. In the second half of 2018 travellers visited Nunavut 134,000 times and spent $ 436 million. Two-thirds of those visits were by Nunavummiut (residents of Nunavut) travelling within the territory. The remaining came from outside other provinces or territories in Canada, or from abroad and spent $ 219 million. Travellers from Ontario make up

264-466: A " drunken forest ". A number of protected areas have been established to protect representative and/or significant portions of this ecozone. These include Caribou River Wilderness Provincial Park , Sand Lakes Provincial Park , and Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve . Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada . At a land area of approximately 1,127,711.92 km (435,412.01 sq mi) and

352-684: A "collection assembles the first animated films to be made by Inuit artists at the NFB. Featured is work by Solomonie Pootoogook, Timmun Alariaq, Mathew Joanasie, and Itee Pootoogook Pilaloosie—all participants in the Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) Film Animation Workshop on Baffin Island." In November 2006, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation announced

440-472: 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 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

528-566: A commercial monopoly over Rupert's Land . Present day Northwest Territories laid northwest of Rupert's Land, and was known as the North-Western Territory . Although not formally part of Rupert's Land, the HBC made regular use of the region as a part of its trading area. The Treaty of Utrecht saw the British become the only European power with practical access to the North-Western Territory , with

616-756: A conditional agreement seven months later. The land claims agreement was completed in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut in a referendum . On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed by the Canadian Parliament . The transition to establish Nunavut Territory was completed on April 1, 1999. In 2020, Nunavut imposed strict travel regulations in order to prevent an outbreak of

704-508: A history of violent conflict between the Dene and the Inuit , who have now taken recent steps towards reconciliation. Nunavut Nunavut is the largest, easternmost, and northernmost 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 , which provided this territory to

792-614: A large climate variance from south to north. The southern part of the territory (most of the mainland portion) has a subarctic climate , while the islands and northern coast have a polar climate . Summers in the north are short and cool, featuring daytime highs of 14–17 °C (57–63 °F) and lows of 1–5 °C (34–41 °F). Winters are long and harsh, with daytime highs of −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) and lows of −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F). The coldest nights typically reach −40 to −45 °C (−40 to −49 °F) each year. Extremes are common, with summer highs in

880-669: A population of 1,874, is the largest First Nations community, 1,696 (90.9%), and Inuvik with 3,243 people is the largest Inuvialuit community, 1,315 (40.5%). There is one Indian reserve in the NWT, Hay River Reserve , located on the south shore of the Hay River . The gross domestic product of the Northwest Territories was C$ 4.856 billion in 2017. It has the highest per capita GDP of all provinces and territories in Canada, totalling C$ 76,000 in 2009. The Territories' geological resources include gold, diamonds, natural gas and petroleum . BP

968-433: A population of 36,858 as of the 2021 Canadian census (up from 35,944 in 2016) consisting mostly of Inuit, and a land mass almost as large as Mexico , Nunavut's land area of 1,836,993.78 km (709,267.26 sq mi) has a population density of 0.022/km (0.056/sq mi). Nunavut is also home to the world's northernmost continuously inhabited place, Alert . Eureka , a weather station on Ellesmere Island, has

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1056-477: A population of 36,858 from the 2021 Census . In 2021, 30,865 people identified as Inuit (84.3% of the total population), 180 as First Nations (0.5%), 120 as Métis (0.3%), 230 with multiple or other Indigenous responses (0.6%), and 5,210 as non-Indigenous (14.2%). The population growth rate of Nunavut has been well above the Canadian average for several decades, mostly due to birth rates significantly higher than

1144-586: A report titled The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953–55 Relocation . The government paid compensation to those affected and their descendants. On August 18, 2010, in Inukjuak, the Honourable John Duncan , PC, MP , previous Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians formally apologized on behalf of the Government of Canada for

1232-477: A single MP represents an area that is almost 14 percent of the land area of all of Canada. The government of Northwest Territories comprises the following departments: The Northwest Territories is divided into five administrative regions (regional offices in parentheses): Aboriginal issues in the Northwest Territories include the fate of the Dene who, in the 1940s, were employed to carry radioactive uranium ore from

1320-569: Is an open pit gold mine with an estimated mine life 2010–2020 and employs 680 people. The second mine in production is the Mary River Iron Ore mine operated by Baffinland Iron Mines. It is located close to Pond Inlet on North Baffin Island. They produce a high grade direct ship iron ore. The most recent mine to open is Doris North or the Hope Bay Mine operated near Hope Bay Aerodrome by TMAC Resource Ltd. This new high grade gold mine

1408-664: Is based in Nunavut. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) serves Nunavut through a radio and television production centre in Iqaluit, and a bureau in Rankin Inlet. Iqaluit is served by private commercial radio stations CKIQ-FM and CKGC-FM , both owned by Northern Lights Entertainment Inc. (CKIQ-FM had a rebroadcaster in Rankin Inlet that was discontinued in 2009.) Nunavut is served by two regional weekly newspapers, Nunatsiaq News published by Nortext, and Nunavut News/North , published by Northern News Services , who also publish

1496-402: Is located in neighbouring Alberta . Parks Canada also manages three park reserves: Nááts'ihch'oh , Nahanni National Park Reserve , and Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve . As a territory, the NWT has fewer rights than the provinces. During his term, Premier Kakfwi pushed to have the federal government accord more rights to the territory, including having a greater share of the returns from

1584-441: Is reasonable to expect it given the nature of the services requested. In practical terms, English language services are universally available, and there is no guarantee that other languages, including French, will be used by any particular government service, except for the courts. The 2016 census returns showed a population of 41,786. Of the 40,565 singular responses to the census question regarding each inhabitant's "mother tongue",

1672-457: Is roughly equal to that of France, Portugal and Spain combined, although its overall area is even larger because of its vast lakes. The name was originally descriptive, adopted by the British government during the colonial era to indicate where it lay in relation to the rest of Rupert's Land . It has been shortened from North-Western Territory and then North-West Territories . In Inuktitut ,

1760-474: Is the first in a series of potential mines in gold occurrences all along the Hope Bay greenstone belt . Nunavut's people rely primarily on diesel fuel to run generators and heat homes, with fossil fuel shipments from southern Canada by plane or boat because there are few to no roads or rail links to the region. There is a government effort to use more renewable energy sources, which is generally supported by

1848-511: Is the only oil company currently producing oil there. Its diamonds are promoted as an alternative to purchasing blood diamonds . Two of the biggest mineral resource companies in the world, BHP and Rio Tinto mine many of their diamonds there. In 2010, Territories' accounted for 28.5% of Rio Tinto's total diamond production (3.9 million carats, 17% more than in 2009, from the Diavik Diamond Mine ) and 100% of BHP's (3.05 million carats from

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1936-644: The COVID-19 pandemic. The government barred entry to almost all non-residents. On November 6, 2020, Nunavut confirmed its first case in Sanikiluaq , having previously been the only place in North America to have had no cases of COVID-19. Nunavut covers 1,836,993.78 km (709,267.26 sq mi) of land and 160,930 km (62,137 sq mi) of water in Northern Canada. The territory includes part of

2024-641: The Carrothers Commission . The Northwest Territories, a portion of the old North-Western Territory , entered the Canadian Confederation on July 15, 1870. At first, it was named the North-West Territories. The name was changed to the present Northwest Territories in 1906. Since 1870, the territory has been divided four times to create new provinces and territories or enlarge existing ones. Its current borders date from April 1, 1999, when

2112-574: The EKATI mine ). The Eldorado Mine produced uranium for the Manhattan Project , as well as radium , silver, and copper (for other uses). During the winter, many international visitors go to Yellowknife to watch the auroras . Five areas managed by Parks Canada are situated within the territory: Aulavik and Tuktut Nogait National Parks are in the northern part. Portions of Wood Buffalo National Park are located within it, although most of it

2200-539: The Inuit for self-government. The boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map in half a century since the province of Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) was admitted in 1949. Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada and most of the Arctic Archipelago . Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in

2288-535: The Inuit language ( Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun ), known as Inuktut , English, and French. In his 2000 commissioned report ( Aajiiqatigiingniq Language of Instruction Research Paper ) to the Nunavut Department of Education, Ian Martin of York University said that a "long-term threat to Inuit languages from English is found everywhere, and current school language policies and practices on language are contributing to that threat" if Nunavut schools follow

2376-682: The Inuvialuit Settlement Region and belongs to the greater Inuit Nunangat . Amongst the other Inuit, there are also the Copper Inuit who inhabit their traditional territory, Inuinnait Nunangat , between the Kitikmeot and Inuvik Regions . To the south are the Cree First Nations and Métis . In 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was formed from a royal charter, and was granted

2464-625: The Labrador coast, and the Arctic Islands (except the southern half of Baffin Island ). After the 1870 transfer, some of the North-West Territories was whittled away. The province of Manitoba was enlarged in 1881 to a rectangular region composing the modern province's south. By the time British Columbia joined Confederation on July 20, 1871, it had already (1866) been granted the portion of North-Western Territory south of 60 degrees north and west of 120 degrees west , an area that comprised most of

2552-526: The Northwest Passage , Frobisher thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island . The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit. Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson , William Baffin and Robert Bylot . Cornwallis and Ellesmere Islands featured in

2640-724: The Nunavut Arctic College , as well as several Arctic research stations located within the territory. The new Canadian High Arctic Research Station CHARS is planning for Cambridge Bay and high north Alert Bay Station. Iqaluit hosts the annual Nunavut Mining Symposium every April, a tradeshow that showcases the many economic activities ongoing in Nunavut. Baffinland is the territory's largest private sector employer with more than 2,600 workers and accounted for 23 per cent of Nunavut's economic activity in 2019. There are currently three major mines in operation in Nunavut. Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd – Meadowbank Division. Meadowbank Gold Mine

2728-704: The Stickeen Territories (and a portion of the Peace River country). The North-West Territories Council was created in 1875 for more local government in the North-West Territories. At first wholly made up of appointed members, it got its first elected members in 1882 and became wholly elected in 1888 when the council was reorganized as the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories. Frederick Haultain , an Ontario lawyer who practised at Fort Macleod from 1884, became its chairman in 1891 and Premier when

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2816-518: The T'satsąot'ınę (Ndé). Historically, Dene have lived across Denendeh and what is now the NWT since time immemorial and the era of Yamoria and Yamozha . Along the northern coast live one of the Inuit sudivisions: the Inuvialuit , a conglomerate of several Inuvialuit peoples, including the Uummarmiut , Kangiryuarmiut , and Siglit . Their country, variously called Inuvialuit Nunangit , Inuvialuit Nunungat , or Inuvialuit Nunangat corresponds to

2904-489: The relocation of Inuit to the High Arctic . Discussions on dividing the Northwest Territories along ethnic lines began in the 1950s, and legislation to achieve this was introduced in 1963. After its failure, a federal commission recommended against such a measure. During the 1970s, activism increased among the Inuit, First Nations , and Innu peoples for recognition of their forced assimilation . In 1976, as part of

2992-549: The 2011 Census. The percentage of population which is non-religious has grown from 13% in 2011 to 24.9% in 2021 Census. About 1.6% of the population reported another religious affiliation including Aboriginal spirituality, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and others. The economy of Nunavut is driven by the Inuit and Territorial Government, mining, oil, gas, and mineral exploration, arts, crafts, hunting, fishing, whaling, tourism, transportation, housing development, military, research, and education. Currently, one college operates in Nunavut,

3080-551: The Assembly was reorganized in 1897. The modern provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created in 1905. Contemporary records show Haultain recommended that the NWT become a single province, named Buffalo, but the Canadian government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier acted otherwise. In the meantime, the British Arctic Territories were transferred to Canada and added to the North-West Territories in 1880. The province of Ontario

3168-401: The Canadian average—a trend that continues. Between 2011 and 2016, Nunavut had the highest population growth rate of any Canadian province or territory, at a rate of 12.7%. The second-highest was Alberta, with a growth rate of 11.6%. Between 2016 and 2021, the population growth increased by 2.5% (the third lowest), a decrease of 10.2 percentiles from the previous census. Official languages are

3256-526: The Dorset culture developed from the Pre-Dorset somehow. Helluland , which Norse explorers described visiting in their Sagas of Icelanders , has been associated with Nunavut's Baffin Island . Claims of contact between the Dorset and Norse are controversial. The Thule people , ancestors of the modern Inuit , began migrating from Alaska in the 11th century into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. By 1300,

3344-619: The French surrendering their claim to the Hudson Bay coast. Europeans have visited the region for the purposes of fur trading , and exploration for new trade routes, including the Northwest Passage . Arctic expeditions launched in the 19th century include the Coppermine expedition . In 1867, the first Canadian residential school opened in the region in Fort Resolution. The opening of the school

3432-660: The Government of Nunavut and the NFB jointly announced the launch of a DVD and online collection entitled Unikkausivut (Inuktitut: Sharing Our Stories ), which will make over 100 NFB films by and about Inuit available in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and other Inuit languages, as well as English and French. The Government of Nunavut is distributing Unikkausivut to every school in the territory. The music of Nunavut includes Inuit throat singing and drum-led dancing, along with country music , bluegrass , fiddling , square dancing and

3520-516: The House." The NWT Legislative Assembly is composed of one member elected from each of the nineteen constituencies. After each general election , the new assembly elects the premier and the speaker by secret ballot. Seven MLAs are also chosen as cabinet ministers, with the remainder forming the opposition. The membership of the current legislative assembly was set by the 2023 Northwest Territories general election on November 14, 2023. R.J. Simpson

3608-455: The NWT. These range in size from Yellowknife with a population of 19,569 to Kakisa with 36 people. Governance of each community differs, some are run under various types of First Nations control, while others are designated as a city, town, village or hamlet, but most communities are municipal corporations . Yellowknife is the largest community and has the largest number of Aboriginal peoples, 4,520 (23.4%) people. However, Behchokǫ̀ , with

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3696-471: The Northwest Territories are referred to as Nunatsiaq ( Inuktitut syllabics ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅ), "beautiful land". The northernmost region of the territory is home to the Inuvialuit , who primarily live in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq), while the southern portion is called Denendeh (an Athabaskan word meaning "our land"). Denendeh is the vast Dene country, stretching from central Alaska to Hudson Bay , within which lie

3784-494: The Northwest Territories model. He provided a 20-year language plan to create a "fully functional bilingual society, in Inuktitut and English" by 2020. The plan provided different models, including: Of the 34,960 responses to the census question concerning "mother tongue" in the 2016 census, the most commonly reported languages in Nunavut were: At the time of the census, only English and French were counted as official languages. Figures shown are for single-language responses and

3872-404: The Northwest Territories on the mainland and a few Arctic islands, and with Manitoba to the south of the Nunavut mainland; it also meets Saskatchewan to the southwest at a quadripoint , and has a short land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island . The boundary with the Northwest Territories roughly approximates the tree line in Canada. Nunavut shares maritime borders with

3960-727: The Northwest Territories. This subarctic zone experiences cool summers that are short, with at least 24 hours of full daylight a year in its most northern reaches, and winters that are extremely cold and long, with at least one 24-hour period of complete darkness. Precipitation ranges from 250 to 500 mm (10-20 in.) annually throughout the zone, except in Labrador which may receive up to 800 mm (31 in.) along its coast, and typically increases from west to east. The shallow soils remain damp, even soggy, year-round, and regularly freeze and thaw without drainage. This leads to shifting soil that randomly tilts growing trees, which has been likened to

4048-715: The Taiga Shield is sparsely populated, with approximately 340,000 inhabitants, over 60% of which is First Nations . Most settled areas developed around mining or hydroelectric activity, for example in Yellowknife and Uranium City in the west and Labrador City in the east, but are isolated from other communities. Mineral extraction is the most important economic activity, with iron being mined in Quebec and Labrador, uranium in Saskatchewan, and gold and more recently diamonds in

4136-636: The canyons of the Nahanni National Park Reserve , a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site . Territorial islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago include Banks Island , Borden Island , Prince Patrick Island , and parts of Victoria Island and Melville Island . Its highest point is Mount Nirvana near the border with Yukon at an elevation of 2,773 m (9,098 ft). The Northwest Territories extends for more than 1,300,000 km (500,000 sq mi) and has

4224-540: The coast of Quebec, where it continues in a consistently-wide strip towards the ocean, encompassing all but a small portion of Labrador . It is one of the largest ecozones in Canada, covering 1.3 million square kilometres. Terrain is typically flat or rolling hills with thousands of depressions carved by glacial retreat now infilled, forming lakes , ponds , wetlands and other water features. Long eskers and uplands are also common. This ecozone can be further subdivided into four ecoprovinces: Primarily wilderness ,

4312-557: The community. This support comes from Nunavut feeling the effects of global warming . Former Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said in 2011, " Climate change is very much upon us. It is affecting our hunters, the animals, the thinning of the ice is a big concern, as well as erosion from permafrost melting." The region is warming about twice as fast as the global average, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . Northern Transportation Company Limited , owned by Norterra,

4400-419: The day. Thunderstorms are not rare in the south. In the north, they are very rare but do occur. Tornadoes are extremely rare but have happened with the most notable one happening just outside Yellowknife that destroyed a communications tower. The Territory has a fairly dry climate due to the mountains in the west. About half of the territory is above the tree line . There are not many trees in most of

4488-474: The debates and proceedings of the legislature. However, the laws are legally binding only in their French and English versions, and the NWT government only publishes laws and other documents in the territory's other official languages when the legislature asks it to. Furthermore, access to services in any language is limited to institutions and circumstances where there is a significant demand for that language or where it

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4576-422: The devolution of more powers to the elected assembly since 1967, the position has become symbolic. The commissioner had full governmental powers until 1980 when the territories were given greater self-government. The legislative assembly then began electing a cabinet and government leader , later known as the premier . Since 1985 the commissioner no longer chairs meetings of the executive council (or cabinet), and

4664-407: The eastern areas of the territory, or in the north islands. There are multiple Indigenous territories overlapping the current borders of the Northwest Territories. These include Denendeh , Inuvialuit Settlement Region ( Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq ), and both Métis and Nêhiyawak countries (Michif Piyii and ᓀᐦᐃᔮᓈᕁ nêhiýânâhk , respectively). Of these, Denendeh and the Dene nations are

4752-462: The election, all Members meet as a Caucus to set priorities for that Assembly. The Caucus remains active throughout their term as the forum where all Members meet as equals.[...] Compared to the party system, there is much more communication between Regular Members and Cabinet. All legislation, major policies, and proposed budgets pass through the Regular Members' standing committees before coming to

4840-520: The federal government has instructed commissioners to behave like a provincial lieutenant governor . Unlike lieutenant governors, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is not a formal representative of the King of Canada . Unlike provincial governments and the government of Yukon, the government of the Northwest Territories does not have political parties. It never has had political parties except for

4928-402: The former premier Stephen Kakfwi , among others. One of the most popular proposals for a new name—to name the territory "Bob"—began as a prank , but for a while it was at or near the top in the public-opinion polls . Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, as well as four provinces: British Columbia to

5016-502: The geographic extent of Thule settlement included most of modern Nunavut. The migration of the Thule people coincides with the decline of the Dorset. Thule people genetically and culturally completely replaced Dorset some time after 1300. The earliest written historical account of the area is dated to 1576, an account by English explorer Martin Frobisher . While leading an expedition to find

5104-577: The history of the Cold War in the 1950s. Concerned about the area's strategic geopolitical position, the federal government, as part of the High Arctic relocation , relocated Inuit from Nunavik (northern Quebec ) to Resolute and Grise Fiord . In the unfamiliar and hostile conditions, they faced starvation but were forced to stay. Forty years later, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued

5192-472: The homelands of the numerous Dene nations. Since the Yukon Territory was split from it in 1898, it is no longer the westernmost territory, and until Nunavut was split from it in 1999 it included territory extending as far east as Canada's Atlantic provinces . There has been some discussion of changing the name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by

5280-481: The land claims negotiations between the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the "Inuit Tapirisat of Canada") and the federal government, the parties discussed division of the Northwest Territories to provide a separate territory for the Inuit. On April 14, 1982, a plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories. A majority of the residents voted in favour and the federal government gave

5368-408: The largest portion of visitors from outside the territory. The majority of visitors from outside of Nunavut are business travellers; in the second half of 2018 only 14% of visitors were in the territory for leisure. Tourism recreation in Nunavut include activities like dog sledding, snowmobiling, cultural festivals, hiking, arctic wildlife safaris and sea kayaking. The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation

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5456-476: The last addition to their modern landmass from the Northwest Territories in 1912. This left only the districts of Mackenzie , Franklin (which absorbed the remnants of Ungava in 1920) and Keewatin within what was then given the name Northwest Territories. In 1925, the boundaries of the Northwest Territories were extended all the way to the North Pole on the sector principle , vastly expanding its territory onto

5544-561: The lowest average annual temperature of any Canadian weather station. The region which is now mainland Nunavut was first populated approximately 4,500 years ago by the Pre-Dorset , a diverse Paleo-Eskimo culture that migrated eastward from the Bering Strait region. The Pre-Dorset culture was succeeded by the Dorset culture about 2,800 years ago. Anthropologists and historians believe that

5632-596: The mainland, most of the Arctic Archipelago, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay , James Bay , and Ungava Bay , including the Belcher Islands , all of which were part of the Northwest Territories from which Nunavut was separated. This makes it the fifth-largest subnational entity (or administrative division ) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 15th in area. Nunavut has long land borders with

5720-454: The mines on Great Bear Lake. Of the thirty plus miners who worked at the Port Radium site, at least fourteen have died due to various forms of cancer. A study was done in the community of Deline , called A Village of Widows by Cindy Kenny-Gilday , which indicated that the number of people involved were too small to be able to confirm or deny a link. There has been racial tension based on

5808-424: The most interprovincial and inter-territorial land borders among all provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered by the territories of Nunavut to the east and Yukon to the west, and by the provinces of British Columbia , Alberta , and Saskatchewan to the south; it also touches Manitoba to the southeast at a quadripoint that includes Nunavut and Saskatchewan. The land area of the Northwest Territories

5896-403: The most prominent with the rest of the Dene country ("Dene-ndeh" or Deneland) covering much of what is now Alaska , British Columbia , and the northern regions of the prairie provinces . Some of its constituent territories include Tłı̨chǫ Country , Got'iné Néné , Dehchondéh , and Gwichʼin Nành, amongst others including those of the Dënë Sųłinë́ (Nëné, "land" ), Dane-z̲aa (Nanéʔ), and

5984-438: The most reported languages were the following (italics indicate an official language of the NWT): There were also 630 responses of both English and a "non-official language"; 35 of both French and a "non-official language"; 145 of both English and French, and about 400 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave some other unenumerable response. (Figures shown are for

6072-494: The multi-territory regional Kivalliq News . The film production company Isuma is based in Igloolik. Co-founded by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn in 1990, the company produced the 1999 feature Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner , winner of the Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature Film at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival . It was the first feature film written, directed, and acted entirely in Inuktitut . The National Film Board (NFB) has released Animation from Cape Dorset (1973),

6160-426: The name the North-West Territories. This immense region comprised all of today's Canada except British Columbia, an early form of Manitoba (a small square area around Winnipeg ), early forms of present-day Ontario and Quebec (the coast of the Great Lakes , the Saint Lawrence River valley and the southern third of modern Quebec ), the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick), Newfoundland ,

6248-437: The northern ice cap . Between 1925 and 1999, the Northwest Territories covered a land area of 3,439,296 km (1,327,920 sq mi)—larger than one-third of Canada in terms of area. On April 1, 1999, a separate Nunavut territory was formed from the eastern Northwest Territories to represent the Inuit. Visible minority and indigenous identity (2016): The NWT is one of two jurisdictions in Canada – Nunavut being

6336-485: The number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.) In the 2021 Census, 55.2% of the population followed Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism ); this is down from 67.6% in the 2001 Census. At the same time, the population reported having no religious affiliation has more than doubled, from 17.4% in 2001 to 39.8% in 2021 census. About 5.0% reported other religious affiliations. As of 2014, there are 33 official communities in

6424-535: The only language used in the assembly. After some conflict with the Confederation Government in Ottawa , and a decisive vote on January 19, 1892, the assembly members voted for an English-only territory. Currently, the Northwest Territories' Official Languages Act recognizes the following eleven official languages : NWT residents have a right to use any of the above languages in a territorial court, and in

6512-472: The other – where Indigenous peoples are in the majority, constituting 50.4% of the population. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the 10 major ethnic groups were: French was made an official language in 1877 by the then-territorial government. After a lengthy and bitter debate resulting from a speech from the throne in 1888 by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal , the members of the time voted on more than one occasion to nullify this and make English

6600-422: The percentage of total single-language responses. In the 2016 census it was reported that 2,045 people (5.8%) living in Nunavut had no knowledge of either official language of Canada (English or French). The 2016 census also reported that of the 30,135 Inuit in Nunavut, 90.7% could speak either Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtun. In the 2021 census, Christianity constituted 73.5% of Nunavut's population, down from 86% in

6688-437: The period between 1898 and 1905. Its legislative assembly operates through the consensus government model. The website of the NWT government describes consensus government thusly: "The Northwest Territories is one of only two jurisdictions in Canada with a consensus system of government instead of one based on party politics. In our system, all Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected as independents. Shortly after

6776-494: The provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. With Greenland, a constituent country of the Danish Realm , it shares a primarily maritime international border that includes a short land border on Hans Island . Nunavut's highest point is Barbeau Peak (2,616 m (8,583 ft)) on Ellesmere Island. The population density is 0.022/km (0.056/sq mi), one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, Greenland has approximately

6864-429: The same area and nearly twice the population. Nunavut experiences a polar climate in most regions, owing to its high latitude and lower continental summertime influence than areas to the west. In more southerly continental areas, very cold subarctic climates can be found, due to July being slightly milder than the required 10 °C (50 °F). Visible minority and indigenous identity (2016): Nunavut has

6952-492: The south reaching 36 °C (97 °F) and lows reaching below 0 °C (32 °F). In winter in the south, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −40 °C (−40 °F), but they can also reach the low teens during the day. In the north, temperatures can reach highs of 30 °C (86 °F), and lows into the low negatives. In winter in the north, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −50 °C (−58 °F) but they can also reach single digits during

7040-476: The southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south, and Manitoba (through a quadripoint ) to the extreme southeast. It has a land area of 1,183,085 km (456,792 sq mi). Geographical features include Great Bear Lake , the largest lake entirely within Canada, and Great Slave Lake , the deepest body of water in North America at 614 m (2,014 ft), as well as the Mackenzie River and

7128-616: The start of the Nunavut Animation Lab, offering animation training to Nunavut artists at workshops in Iqaluit, Cape Dorset and Pangnirtung. Films from the Nunavut Animation Lab include Alethea Arnaquq-Baril 's 2010 digital animation short Lumaajuuq , winner of the Best Aboriginal Award at the Golden Sheaf Awards and named Best Canadian Short Drama at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival . In November 2011,

7216-555: The territory's natural resources go to the territory. Devolution of powers to the territory was an issue in the 20th general election in 2003, and has been ever since the territory began electing members in 1881. The Commissioner of the NWT is the chief executive and is appointed by the Governor-in-Council of Canada on the recommendation of the federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development . The position used to be more administrative and governmental, but with

7304-493: The territory's size was decreased again by the creation of a new territory of Nunavut to the east, through the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement . While Nunavut is mostly Arctic tundra , the Northwest Territories has a slightly warmer climate and is both boreal forest (taiga) and tundra , and its most northern regions form part of the Arctic Archipelago . The Northwest Territories has

7392-609: The west, and all islands in Hudson, James and Ungava bays, including the western portion of Killiniq Island in the southeast and Akimiski Island far to the south of the rest of the territory. It is Canada's only geopolitical region that is not connected to the rest of North America via the Pan-American Highway . Nunavut is the least densely populated major country sub-division in the world (not considering Antarctica), being even less densely populated than Denmark's Greenland . With

7480-454: The world , as well as North America's second-largest (after Greenland ). The capital Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay), on Baffin Island in the east, was chosen by a capital plebiscite in 1995 . Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay . Nunavut includes Ellesmere Island in the far north, the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in

7568-522: Was enlarged north-westward in 1882. Quebec was also extended northwards in 1898. Yukon was also made a separate territory that year and eventually gained additional territorial powers with the 2003 Yukon Act . One year after the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, the Parliament of Canada renamed the "North-West Territories" as the Northwest Territories , dropping all hyphenated forms of it. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec acquired

7656-563: Was followed by several others in regions across the territory, thus contributing to it reaching the highest percentage of students in residential schools compared to other area in Canada. The present-day territory came under the authority of the Government of Canada in July 1870, after the Hudson's Bay Company transferred Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to the British Crown, which subsequently transferred them to Canada, giving it

7744-433: Was selected as the new premier by his fellow MLAs on December 7, 2023. The member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories is Michael McLeod ( Liberal Party ). The Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is Gerald Kisoun . In the Parliament of Canada , the NWT comprises a single Senate division and a single House of Commons electoral district , titled Northwest Territories ( Western Arctic until 2014). Thus

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