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162-570: The highway is named for North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) officer William Dempster , who earned renown for discovering the fate of a lost NWMP patrol in 1911. The highway begins 40 km (25 mi) east of Dawson City , Yukon on the Klondike Highway . There are no highway or major road intersections along the highway's route. It extends 736 km (457 mi) in a north-northeasterly direction to Inuvik , Northwest Territories, passing through Tombstone Territorial Park and crossing

324-413: A Canadian military response, at first it appeared that only a minimal deployment would be needed, and it was only after several British defeats that an offer of a more substantive force was welcomed by London. The Canadian government turned to the mounted police as their main source for experienced mounted soldiers, and members were given leave from the force for the duration of their service. Combined with

486-479: A brothel in order to give the impression that the prostitution was not being tolerated. From 1890, pressure from Protestant churches led to a crackdown being launched on prostitution. However, the campaign was ineffective as the NWMP would raid a brothel and offer the madam the choice of paying a fine or leaving town; generally the latter option was taken. No sooner had the brothel been shut down, then another would open

648-584: 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

810-436: A corps of mounted infantry. He publicly likened the police to "gophers", who had retreated and hid during the fighting, and his complaints were picked up by the press. Irvine was criticized in the media for his lack of vigour and, lacking the support of the prime minister, he resigned the next year and was replaced by Lawrence Herchmer . In turn, Irvine complained about Crozier's behaviour and "the impetuosity displayed by both

972-405: A cost of $ 132 million. The highway was officially opened on August 18, 1979, at Flat Creek, Yukon. North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police ( NWMP ) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to Canada from

1134-501: A desire for revenge, Davin pursued a vendetta against Lawrence when he became commissioner, helped by another newspaper publisher, Charles Wood. Lawrence Herchmer was unpopular with many of his officers and Davin published their critiques of him, along with accusations of a wide range of misdemeanours. The government ordered an investigation, followed by a judicial inquiry , both of which cleared Herchmer of any serious charges. North-West Territories The Northwest Territories

1296-486: A few weeks later, leading to the cycle being repeated. An additional problem for the NWMP was the fact that the pay for an constable was 60 cents per day, making it difficult as an NWMP to recruit "men of good character and steady habits". By 1904, an average of 10% of the force either were being dismissed or had deserted to the United States. Given that the average age for a NWMP constable was between 20 and 25 and

1458-456: A growing range of demands on the mounted police, and they struggled to cope with the changes. The rising population drove an increase in the criminal cases tackled by the force: less than 1,000 were investigated in 1900, but within four years the number of cases had risen to over 4,000. There was controversy around what role the mounted police should play in the new towns, and the force became concerned that these were pulling in police manpower, at

1620-614: 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

1782-483: A larger force of 550 men who would be tasked to push south into the border region itself and establish law and order there. Macdonald acquired approval for his new force on May 23, 1873, after Parliament, following a cursory debate, passed the Mounted Police Act into law unopposed. At this point, Macdonald appears to have intended to create a force of mounted police to watch "the frontier from Manitoba to

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1944-522: A larger force of rebels at Duck Lake , where his detachment came off much worse in the resulting fight . Emboldened, some of the Cree leaders, including Poundmaker and Big Bear , now joined the Métis in their revolt, although others continued to tacitly support the government, in part the result of the good relationship the police had built up with them. The police rapidly abandoned most of their posts along

2106-520: A long-term alliance with the mounted police. Formal negotiations between the Canadian government and the Blackfoot began in 1877, with Macleod representing Queen Victoria . The resulting Treaty 7 established reserves for the Blackfoot, in exchange for gratuities and the promise of annuities . The Department of Indian Affairs was created to govern the reserves, supported by the police. By 1879,

2268-553: A much lower level of violence between the government and indigenous peoples than in the United States. That the NWMP had evicted the American whisky traders whose sales had led to alcoholism becoming a serious problem was greatly appreciated by the First Nations peoples. The Blackfoot chief Crowfoot in 1877 stated: "The Mounted Police protected us as the feathers of the bird protect it from the frosts of winter". The fact that

2430-803: 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

2592-462: A proprietary colony. The new Dominion government was keen to expand westwards, in part due to fears that the United States might annex the region. It agreed to purchase the company's lands in exchange for £300,000 and various grants of land, adding around 2,500,000 square miles (6,500,000 km ) of territory to the Dominion in 1870. The NWT varied geographically from the extreme conditions of

2754-646: A provisional government, gain the support of the Cree First Nation, defeat the mounted police and seize the region, forcing the Canadian government to the negotiation table. There had been worries among the police about potential instability since the previous fall, and the force had increased its presence in the area over the winter. As tensions rose, Irvine, who had replaced Macleod as Commissioner in 1880 after accusations of financial mismanagement, began to mobilize any spare police manpower in Regina, bringing

2916-431: A range of other services for the new ranches, carrying out operations along the border to prevent cattle crossing north into the Canadian ranches, running quarantine schemes and helping with veterinary issues. The scale of horse theft by white thieves along the border increased dramatically during the late 1880s, which the police's sporadic deployments were unable to counter. In response, Commissioner Herchmer introduced

3078-589: A rescue patrol in March 1911. Dempster and his men found the bodies of Fitzgerald's patrol on March 22, 1911. In 1958, as oil and gas exploration were expanding in the Mackenzie Delta , the Canadian government decided to build a road from Dawson City in Yukon to Aklavik in the Northwest Territories. The road was intended as an overland, year-round supply link to southern Canada. Survey work began in 1958. With

3240-490: A reservation only with a pass issued by the local Indian agent and had to return by the time the pass expired. The pass system was brought in as a temporary measure during the North-West Rebellion, but was then made permanent as the government found it a useful means of social control. The NWMP knew that the pass system had no basis in the law and in fact violated Treaty 7 with the Blackfoot, which promised that

3402-475: A route from Dawson City to the NWMP outpost at Fort McPherson, established in 1903. In December 1910, NWMP Inspector Francis Joseph Fitzgerald led three men on the annual winter patrol from Fort McPherson to Dawson City. They became lost on the trail, and subsequently died of exposure and starvation. When they failed to arrive in Dawson City as expected, Corporal Dempster and two constables were sent out on

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3564-698: A similar manner to the British Indian Army , but he was forced to abandon this approach after the Red River Rebellion of 1870 called their loyalty into question. In June 1873, around 30 members of the Assiniboine First Nation were killed in the Cypress Hills Massacre , creating a national furore. In response, Macdonald used a Privy Council order to enact the new legislation, formally creating

3726-481: 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

3888-512: 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 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

4050-408: A system of police patrols across the territories, with scheduled visits and inspections supported by surprise "flying patrols". This approach was enabled by a network of new outposts across the major ranches. Police would visit almost every farm or ranch, seek to get to know every member of the community personally, gather intelligence and ask each settler to record any issues in a patrol book. Along

4212-473: A total of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km). After resupplying, French led some of his force back east, leaving Assistant Commissioner James Macleod to advance on Fort Whoop-Up with the three remaining divisions, approximately 150 men. When the police reached the fort on October 9, they were prepared for a confrontation, but the whisky traders were aware that they were approaching and had long since moved on. The force received new orders from Ottawa to garrison

4374-410: A unit of mounted infantry modelled on the force, believing this would be particularly suitable for taking on Boer scouting parties. Thirty-three serving members of the police joined the unit, including Superintendent Samuel Steel , who became their commanding officer. The Strathconas wore the mounted police's Stetson hat as part of their uniform, while in turn their distinctive boots were adopted by

4536-466: Is a federal territory of Canada . At a land area of approximately 1,127,711.92 km (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 the only city in

4698-402: 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

4860-441: 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",

5022-520: 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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5184-586: 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

5346-667: The Hudson's Bay Company , the Red River Rebellion and in response to lawlessness, demonstrated by the subsequent Cypress Hills Massacre and fears of United States military intervention. The NWMP combined military, police and judicial functions along similar lines to the Royal Irish Constabulary . A small, mobile police force was chosen to reduce potential for tensions with the United States and First Nations . The NWMP uniforms included red coats deliberately reminiscent of British and Canadian military uniforms. The NWMP

5508-665: 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

5670-765: 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

5832-749: The Mackenzie River and 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

5994-728: The Ogilvie and Richardson mountain ranges. The Dempster Highway roughly follows the old dog sled route from Dawson City to Fort McPherson and is named for Corporal (later Inspector) William Dempster of the North-West Mounted Police . During the late 19th century, and in response to the Klondike Gold Rush , the North-West Mounted Police established a presence in the Yukon and Northwest Territories . Their activities included winter dog sled patrols between outposts and communities. One such patrol followed

6156-659: The Red River valley of Manitoba and a further 8,500 European settlers in the colony of British Columbia . Surveys referred to the territories as the "Wild North Land" and the "Great Lone Land". The Canadian border along the southern edge of Alberta was occupied by the Blackfoot Confederacy , a First Nation whose economy was based on hunting bison . The Blackfoot had suffered badly from smallpox , and were under increasing pressure from rival groups of Sioux and Piegans that had crossed into Canada, fleeing

6318-551: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1920. The NWMP was created due to the expansion of the newly formed Dominion of Canada into the NWT during the 1870s. The Dominion had been formed in 1867 by the confederation of the British colonies of Canada , Nova Scotia and New Brunswick , but the extensive lands to the north-west known as Rupert's Land remained governed by the Hudson's Bay Company as

6480-647: The Second Boer War broke out in 1899, many members of the mounted police wanted to volunteer to serve in South Africa, motivated by sympathy for the British imperial cause and the strong military tradition within the force. Indeed, Commissioner Herchmer had proposed sending a force of 350 men to join the Sudan campaign in 1896, but was turned down by his superiors. Although there was public enthusiasm for

6642-728: 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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6804-633: 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

6966-511: The "Herchmer scandals". Lawrence Herchmer had been appointed as commissioner partially because of his positive reputation within the Indian Department, but also because of his Conservative sympathies and his family links to Prime Minister Macdonald. Herchmer's brother William – himself a mounted police superintendent – had arrested the newspaper-owner Nicholas Davin for public drunkenness several years before. Apparently motivated by

7128-567: 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

7290-577: The August, 1959, discovery of oil in the Eagle Plains area, the government granted concessions to the oil industry to stimulate more exploration in the area. This provided more motivation for a road to transport equipment, infrastructure, and revenue to and from the sites. Construction of the road, then known as Yukon Territorial Road No. 11, began at Dawson City in January 1959. The northern terminus of

7452-627: The Blackfoot people would be permitted go whatever they liked. The Indians often ignored the pass system, and in May 1893 Commissioner Herchmer ordered the NWMP to stop enforcing the pass system, saying it was illegal under Canadian law, only to be overruled by the Department of Indian Affairs. It was the intention of the Canadian government to colonize the Prairies, and the government believed that settlers would not come unless there were assurances that

7614-498: The First Nations peoples were under control, hence the pass system. The Canadian government began the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between eastern Canada and British Columbia in 1881, with the aim of opening up the north-western territories for settlement. In response, the mounted police moved their headquarters to the town of Regina , the new territorial capital which had been founded alongside

7776-464: The First Nations. By the 1880s, however, the police also began to tackle horse theft. Horse stealing was common among the First Nations on the prairies: it formed part of intertribal competition and warfare, and the stolen horses enabled their hunting expeditions. In part the police crackdown was driven by the Department for Indian Affairs , who believed that the practice of horse theft was slowing

7938-709: 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

8100-520: 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

8262-579: The Mackenzie Valley. At the time of its construction, the highway was the most northerly major road project to date. Weather and daylight conditions presented challenges. In 1979, a work crew was trapped in a blizzard in the Richardson Mountains and was almost lost. Construction had to account for the permafrost ; heat transfer from the highway to the ground had to be prevented so the permafrost would not melt. To address this,

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8424-440: The Métis , and then by the threat of a Fenian invasion . Meanwhile, a survey conducted in 1871 by Lieutenant William Butler recommended establishing a mounted force of up to 150 men under a magistrate or commissioner, based along the northern trade routes, leaving the border area as a liminal, ungarrisoned zone. Colonel Patrick Robertson-Ross conducted another survey in 1872, and recommended an alternative strategy of recruiting

8586-493: The NWMP arrested whites accused of killing First Nations peoples led to the perception among First Nations peoples that the NWMP was high-handed, but fair. The herds of buffalo migrated elsewhere on the plains in 1876 and starvation among the Blackfoot loomed. Crowfoot rejected a proposed alliance with the Sioux against the United States, arguing that the collapse of buffalo hunting and white immigration meant that his people needed

8748-547: The NWMP refused to shut it down, saying the brothel was medically inspected every 9 days and to shut it down would cause venereal diseases to spread, leading to a furor in the Calgary newspapers. Towards the end of the 19th century, immigration, urbanization and industrialization transformed the territories, destroying the old frontier way of life. Three million immigrants arrived in Canada between 1910 and 1914, many of them from eastern Europe , and over half of them settled in

8910-483: The NWMP with the intention of mobilizing the force and deploying it early the next year. A report then arrived from Alexander Morris , the Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories , blaming the massacre on the activities of whisky traders at Fort Whoop-Up ; Morris predicted that if action was not taken immediately, there would be a major uprising by the First Nations across the region, into which

9072-506: The NWT that they would not leave and the region would be annexed to the United States. In 1874, the NWMP were deployed to the area of the present Alberta border. Their ill-planned and arduous journey of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km) became known as the March West and was portrayed as an epic journey of endurance. Over the next few years, the NWMP established a wide network of forts, posts and patrols and extended Canadian law across

9234-455: 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

9396-602: The North-West, which reflected the "necessary evil" policy of tolerating prostitution. The fact that the men of the NWMP themselves frequently made use of the services of the prostitutes was another reason to tolerate the brothels. In an editorial, the Regina Leader mockingly noted the "redcoat of the Mounted Policeman is seen flashing in and out from these dens at all hours. As no arrests have been made

9558-618: The RNWMP volunteered for military service during the First World War and the future of the badly depleted force was once again in doubt. Towards the end of the war, however, fears grew about a potential Bolshevik conspiracy and the authorities tasked the RNWMP to investigate the threat. In the aftermath of the violence of the Winnipeg General Strike , the government amalgamated the RNWMP and Dominion Police , to form

9720-442: The Sioux, who he believed were gathering in the United States to attack across the border, and urged the government to send the police via a more northerly route. Following instructions from Ottawa, French finally agreed with Morris that the expedition would initially follow the trail, but then would steer away from the border and Sioux territory, and the mounted police finally left Dufferin on July 8, 1874. The 275-strong expedition

9882-419: The Sioux, who were not covered by Treaty 7 and therefore ineligible for government support. Nonetheless, starvation gradually forced the return of most of the newcomers to the United States, and Sitting Bull himself finally surrendered in 1881. Initially, the police focused their law enforcement efforts on dealing with the illegal consumption of alcohol , which was considered to promote violent behaviour among

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10044-612: The United States might choose to intervene. Macdonald was not entirely convinced by the governor's analysis, but nonetheless he agreed to recruit 150 men and send them west to Lower Fort Garry before winter weather blocked the route. Macdonald's Conservative government then fell from power as a result of the Pacific Scandal , and was replaced by the Liberal administration of Alexander Mackenzie , who placed more credence on Morris's reports and had his own moral concerns about

10206-408: The absence of a formal justice system. In 1869, the government of John A. Macdonald , made plans to create a 200-strong mounted police force to maintain order along the border; such a force, he thought, would enable the colonization of the region and be much cheaper than deploying regular militia units for the task. The implementation of this proposal was delayed, however, first by the rebellion of

10368-409: The area along the line of the route. They enforced the liquor laws, and oversaw the itinerant service workers who accompanied the main construction teams. They defused many of the tensions involving the construction workers and the company, including intervening to resolve cases where the workers had not been paid by the company as promised, but they also intervened to support the railway company. When

10530-468: The area and settled down to build Fort Macleod on an island in Old Man's River. The expedition had been badly planned and executed, and almost failed; the historian William Baker describes it as "a monumental fiasco of poor planning, ignorance, incompetence, and cruelty to men and beasts". Nonetheless, it rapidly became portrayed by the force as epic story of bravery, endurance and determination. With

10692-406: The area to contain good grazing for their horses but it was barren and treeless. French was forced to abandon the plan to head to Whoop-Up and instead travelled 70 miles (110 km) south towards the border, where supplies could be purchased from the United States. Yet more horses died from the cold and hunger, and many of the men were barefoot and in rags by the time they arrived, having travelled

10854-481: The area, many prospectors travelled by foot over arduous mountain routes and along rivers using primitive boats, although no more than 40,000 of them successfully reached the goldfields. A substantial and expensive mounted police detachment was established in the Klondike, amounting to 288 men by 1898, representing around a third of the entire force and including many of its most experienced personnel. The borders in

11016-592: The arrival of the mounted police, the whisky trade around Fort Macleod collapsed, and the traders shifted into legitimate projects or moved elsewhere. The Blackfoot welcomed the arrival of the police and their leader, Crowfoot , promoted a policy of co-operation. After enduring a difficult winter with only limited supplies, the force broke up their main command, some remaining at Fort Macleod, with others establishing forts at Dufferin, Swan River , Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ellice , with Walsh and Calgary following soon after. Macdonald's newly returned Conservative government

11178-412: The assimilation of the First Nations into broader Canadian society. The authorities were also concerned that if the First Nations were allowed to steal horses from across the border in the United States, it could provoke a military intervention into Canada. From 1885 onward, the NWMP was charged with the enforcing the apartheid-like pass system , under which a First Nations person was permitted to leave

11340-477: The authorities described as the "band of desperadoes" around Fort Whoop-Up, before then dispersing his force to establish police posts stretching across the territories. From Fort Dufferin, French could have simply traced the southern line of the frontier, following a well-established trail created two years before by the British and United States Boundary Commission . Lieutenant Governor Morris disagreed with this approach, arguing that it might encourage an attack by

11502-405: The character of these visits can be easily surmised!". Commissioner Herchemer complained that venereal diseases caused more medical treatments in the NWMP than any other, leading him to deduct the costs of medical treatment from the venereal diseases from the pay of the men concerned. The policy of the NWMP was to allow red-light districts to exist, and every so often to launch a raid to shut down

11664-419: The commissioner hoped would write a positive account of the new force. The expedition made slow time along the boundary trail, progressing only 15 miles (24 km) a day at most. The police were already travelling under unpleasant and arduous conditions, made more difficult by the teamsters having little experience and their horses being unsuitable for draught work. On July 29, the main force then turned off

11826-664: The conflict. Sergeant Arthur Richardson , a member of the Strathconas, won the Victoria Cross for rescuing a Canadian soldier under heavy fire at Wolve Spruit. In 1904, the Crown renamed the force the Royal Northwest Mounted Police to honour its contributions in the war. The mounted police continued to face criticism after 1885, through a sequence of allegations in the popular press known as

11988-466: The construction teams. The new industrial workforce often lived and worked under very poor conditions, and enjoyed few employment rights . Workers who left their jobs in protest could find themselves arrested by the mounted police under the terms of the Masters and Servants Act for deserting their employment, or alternatively detained under the vagrancy laws. Although the position of organized labour

12150-559: The construction work. The mounted police made arrests and the government reduced their rations: by 1883, the threat of starvation had forced the First Nations to relocate to the northern side of the line. In 1885, the North-West Rebellion broke out along the North Saskatchewan River valley. Driven by a combination of political and economic issues, Louis Riel and his Métis followers intended to form

12312-419: 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

12474-429: 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

12636-422: 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

12798-437: The difficulties faced by ordinary workers, and were often unwilling to actively assist the company owners if there was a risk it might cause disturbances to break out. Up until the 1890s, the government had no presence in the far north-west of Canada. In 1894, the rise of gold mining and a growing population led to calls for Ottawa to intervene, both to control whisky trading and to protect the local First Nations. In response,

12960-537: The dispute. Police deployed there again in 1906 for nine months during a dispute between the company, now called the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company , and the workforce over union recognition , pay and working conditions. A team of 82 regular police were reinforced by 11 special constables recruited from within the company, with an undercover constable deployed to infiltrate the strike and send back intelligence. Efforts were made to collect information on

13122-585: The earnings of the union leaders, probably intended for use in discrediting them. The police maintained order and escorted non-striking workers past the picket lines . Historians hold differing views as to whether the mounted police were neutral in these disputes or sided with the employers, although all agree that the position of the police in managing the strikes became more difficult as organized labour became better established. The mounted police disliked labour agitators and strikers with eastern or southern European backgrounds, but they also had some sympathy for

13284-458: 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

13446-469: 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

13608-429: The expansion of the United States military across the southern plains. Whisky-traders from the United States had come across the border, selling alcohol to the indigenous peoples, fuelling social problems and outbreaks of violence. Although the region remained relatively safe, there was no civil government, and military explorers highlighted the "lawlessness" and lack of "security for life or property" that resulted from

13770-408: The expense of the wider, less populated areas of the Prairies, where the patrolling system had already had to be cut back. A special railway branch was briefly established in 1888, using undercover officers positioned along the railway line to gather intelligence, and plans were put forward, but not enacted, to create a larger detective branch . Attempts were made to enforce the prostitution laws in

13932-626: The far north, through to the edges of the Great Plains in the south, covered by flat, semi-arid grasslands. A rocky area known as the Shield , which was unsuitable for arable farming , had formed a natural barrier to European colonists gradually spreading across from the eastern colonies. As a result, the territories remained thinly populated, with only around 150,000 First Nations , Inuit and occasional small groups of Europeans, and more substantial communities of around 12,000 Métis settled in

14094-530: 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

14256-419: The final completion of the project. The construction of the railway introduced new tensions between the government and the First Nations. The authorities wished to move the indigenous peoples to reserves north of the railway in order to cut them off from the United States border. For their part, the First Nations were unhappy about the railway being built through their lands, stole company horses and disrupted

14418-431: The first recruits had gone on to become ranchers themselves after leaving the force. Illegal squatting by poorer settlers started to become a problem, however, boiling over into open disputes during the 1890s, and the mounted police were deployed to evict them. The task was unpopular among the force, but it grudgingly complied until government policy towards the smaller settlers finally changed in 1896. The police provided

14580-504: The following year and, by the summer, around 5,600 Sioux had crossed the border despite opposition from the Blackfoot. The mounted police helped to facilitate the negotiations with the Sioux, in which Assistant Commissioner Acheson Irvine played a prominent part. The Sioux declined to return south, however, and the police had to deploy around 200 men to Fort Walsh to oversee the immigrant community. The police lived in primitive conditions and voluntarily shared some of their own supplies with

14742-615: The foot of the Rocky Mountains", probably with its headquarters in Winnipeg . He was heavily influenced by the model of the Royal Irish Constabulary , which combined aspects of a traditional military unit with the judicial functions of the magistrates' courts, and believed that the new force should be able to provide a local system of government in otherwise ungoverned areas. Originally, Macdonald also had wanted to form units of Métis policemen, commanded by white Canadian officers in

14904-411: The force grew and the police soon found themselves almost entirely occupied in attempting to enforce the unpopular laws. Legal changes were pushed through in 1892, removing prohibition and allowing the licensing of public bars; the new law was enforced by local town inspectors, removing most of the force's responsibility for the problem. As there were almost no white women on the Prairies, the influx of

15066-550: The force turned to the vagrancy laws as an alternative approach for removing First Nations from selected areas. Police used agents employed to collect intelligence from within First Nation and Métis communities, and, from 1887, they also employed members of the First Nations as special constables, typically deploying them as scouts and trackers . These scouts wore an informal uniform and were empowered to arrest other members of their communities, but not whites. Enforcing

15228-476: The force up to an operational strength of 562. When the rebellion finally broke out in Batoche in March, Irvine advanced quickly through the snow from Regina to Prince Albert , which he garrisoned with 90 police. Superintendent Leif Crozier took a force of police, civilian volunteers and a 7-pounder (3 kg) gun to Fort Carlton and attempted to seize a cache of supplies. In the process, Crozier confronted

15390-405: The force was called in to manage industrial disputes on a range of occasions between 1887 and 1906. In the mining town of Lethbridge , for example, the Alberta Railway and Coal Company locked out its workforce in 1894 during an attempt to cut staff and reduce wages; a team of ten police was deployed to maintain order, in particular any risks posed by eastern European immigrants, and to mediate in

15552-450: The frontier was changing rapidly, with large cattle ranches being established across the Canadian plains. The government also introduced a new Indian Policy, seeking to sign treaties with the First Nations, establish reserves and a system of annuities, which would then hopefully be followed by the integration of the First Nations into the agricultural economy. The mounted police's approach to enabling this process has been characterized by

15714-429: The general resentment. Many members of the force drank alcohol themselves, including liquor confiscated from smugglers, and police beer canteens were established to provide members of the force a legal alternative. Settlers also began to routinely evade the laws in the larger towns, despite mounted police searches, the deployment of undercover officers, and large fines being imposed by the courts. Public hostility towards

15876-516: The government captured Big Bear and the remnants of the rebel Cree. Riel was imprisoned by the mounted police at Regina, given a short trial, and hanged. Middleton criticized Irvine and the mounted police for having remained in Prince Albert throughout the campaign, and for failing to reinforce him during the Battle of Batoche. The general recommended closing the force, and replacing it with

16038-551: The hardy dare-devils" who rushed to join up to fight for Queen and Country in South Africa. Herchmer recruited and commanded a group of 144 mounted police volunteers, who made up almost half of the new 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Mounted Rifles ; many of the other volunteers in the battalion were also ex-policemen. The NWMP influence on the Canadian Mounted Rifles battalion was strong; of

16200-423: The historian Ronald Atkin as a "benevolent despotism", and by John Jennings as a "legal tyranny". The police insisted that the Canadian law should be applied rigidly to the First Nations, but at the same time were relatively supportive of the First Nations when responding to the claims of the growing number of white ranchers. The force built cordial personal relationships with the First Nations' leaders, which led to

16362-598: The influx of prospectors. NWMP volunteers were sent to fight in the Second Boer War and, in recognition for that and 30 years of service policing the North-West and Yukon Territories, King Edward VII , awarded the title Royal to the North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) in 1904. Plans for disbanding the Royal North-West Mounted Police were abandoned in the face of popular oppositions and regional politicians. Large numbers of

16524-482: 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

16686-625: The last of the Canadian buffalo herds had been eliminated by hunting, and the Indians became dependent on supplies issued by the police to avoid starvation. At the same time, the police were managing the Sitting Bull incident. In 1876 the United States military led a campaign against the Sioux in Dakota; the Sioux's leader, Sitting Bull, concluded that the conflict was unwinnable, and chose to seek sanctuary in Canada. Sitting Bull arrived in May

16848-660: The main column, intending to retake Batoche. The second column advanced to Battleford and then marched south to Cut Knife Creek, with 74 mounted police forming the advance guard. There the column surprised Poundmakers's camp , but the attack by the advance troops failed and the government forces were forced to retreat. After many delays, Middleton finally attacked the rebel capital, winning the Battle of Batoche and forcing Riel to surrender, before relieving Prince Albert on May 20. The third column marched to Edmonton, supported by 20 mounted police and their 9-pounder (4 kg) gun, where

17010-531: The majority were unmarried, there was a marked tendency for them to associate with the "sporting women" as prostitutes were euphemistically described. The NWMP "necessary evil" policy caused much tension with Protestant churches and civic groups that demanded that prostitution be stamped out in the early 20th century. In 1907, following complaints that a brothel full of Japanese prostitutes was operating in Nose Creek just outside of Calgary, Superintendent Dean of

17172-513: The male work crews for the railroad together with the mines being opened in the foothills of the Rocky mountains created an immense demand for prostitution, which flourished as a result. Prostitution was illegal, but the NWMP tended to see it as a "necessary evil", arguing that the male workers wanted sex, and that to shut down the brothels would cause unmanageable social tensions. Between 1874 and 1890, there were only 12 convictions for prostitution in

17334-452: The management of local game hunting, operating the postal and telegraph system, acting as coroners and running the mining registration system. The historian Morris Zaslow describes the Yukon as forming a "police state" during this period, and William Morrison has highlighted the force's paternalistic willingness to invent and enforce non-existent laws whenever they considered it necessary. The police acted efficiently and with probity during

17496-460: 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

17658-505: 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

17820-498: 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

17982-522: The mounted police carried out a survey along the Yukon River and gathered customs duties. Fears grew that the United States might try to seize the mineral-rich region, and a twenty-man police team was established at Forty Mile in 1895. Although there was very little actual crime, frictions soon rose between the police and the Miners' Committees, which had been created to provide informal justice during

18144-440: The movement of the First Nations was introduced by the government after the rebellion. Known as the pass system, this required any individual leaving a reserve to possess a pass signed by a government agent, or to face arrest by the police. The police received advice that the new policy was illegal, as it contravened Treaty 7, which had given guarantees of free movement, but they continued to enforce it for several years. Eventually

18306-612: 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 ,

18468-422: The name, possibly to a term from an Indigenous language. One proposal was "Denendeh", as advocated by 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

18630-433: The new mounted police to carry out the operation. Another 150 men were recruited in eastern Canada and sent west by rail through the United States to rendezvous with the first part of the force at Fort Dufferin . The mounted police's deployment onto the plains in 1874 became known as the "March West". The commissioner of the new force, Colonel George French , was ordered to proceed west from Fort Dufferin to deal with what

18792-467: The new towns – previously these had been largely ignored – with the police informally regulating the local sex industries. There was pressure on the mounted police to assist local government in a wide variety of ways, often opposed by the police themselves. These included supporting public health efforts, distributing relief, fighting and investigating fires, and continuing to manage the movement of cattle. New railway lines continued to be constructed, and

18954-650: The newspapers. Reflecting the improved image of the NWMP, in 1897 as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, a group of NWMP riders clad in their colorful scarlet uniforms marched down the streets of London as part of the Canadian contingent. The NWMP riders caused a sensation in London, and it was from that time onward the romantic image of the Mounties became popular in Britain. When

19116-489: 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

19278-485: 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

19440-450: The officers of the battalion, 13 out of 19 were NWMP men. Of the policemen who volunteered to fight in South Africa, 67.4% were British-born while the remainder were Canadian-born, reflecting the tendency of male British immigrants in Canada to be the ones most likely to volunteer for service in South Africa. Soon after the battalion's arrival in South Africa, however, Herchmer's superior, Major General Edward Hutton , concluded that Herchmer

19602-549: 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

19764-472: 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

19926-437: 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

20088-467: The period, largely curbing criminality in the region, although their task was helped by the geography of the Klondike, which made it relatively easy to bar entry to undesirables. The Klondike gold rush attracted immense worldwide publicity at the time, and the contrast between the relative order of Dawson City in the Yukon vs. the more chaotic and violent situation in Skagway, Alaska caused much comment in

20250-399: The police and volunteers" at Duck Lake; when the details became public, Crozier resigned. In the years after the rebellion, the government's National Policy to settle the north-west continued; by 1885, white settlers became the majority in the region as the railway brought in immigrants, and their numbers almost doubled over the course of the 1890s. The establishment of the mounted police

20412-459: The police as their official footwear in 1901. The South African Constabulary was created in October 1900 to police the recaptured territories; it mirrored the mounted police, with its members again wearing the force's Stetson hat; it incorporated forty-two members of the mounted police and one of its divisions was commanded by Steele. The mounted police volunteers suffered seven casualties during

20574-595: The police were tasked to assist in the building the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific lines, as well as the Crow's Nest Pass branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, following the pattern set by their earlier work in the 1880s. There was a heavy legal load on the force's commissioned officers both in their role as magistrates and as informal arbitrators between company management and

20736-425: The population grew. Cattle ranchers had moved into the territories within a year of the police arriving, initially clustering around the police posts for protection. The government began to promote the development of the large ranches during the 1870s and early 1880s, enclosing land up to 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) in size and excluding smaller farmers. The police had close links to the ranch owners, and many of

20898-638: The posts with Maxim guns . The police checked for illegal weapons and prevented the entry of criminals and collected customs duties, while helping protect and guide the flow of migrants, mediating in their disputes and providing practical advice. The mounted police established their headquarters in the boomtown of Dawson City and patrolled out across the Yukon Territory, creating a network of thirty-three posts. Detectives were deployed to infiltrate American organizations to seek out potential conspiracies. The police's role also encompassed fire safety,

21060-399: The pressures of maintaining the commitments in the Yukon, this reduced the number of the police in the remaining territories to only 682 men by 1900. The similarity of the vast expenses of the veld to the Prairies was felt to make the NWMP well qualified for operations in South Africa. Herchmer was an efficient bureaucrat, but his authoritarian leadership style made him ill-suited to "handle

21222-528: The previous few years. The police brought the issue to a head in June 1896, sending a team into one of the mining camps to overturn the decisions of the local committee. In 1896, huge amounts of gold were discovered in the Klondike valley. Once news of this circulated the following year, around 100,000 people rushed to the Klondike in search of wealth, most with no experience in the mining industry. To reach

21384-464: The prohibition on liquor began to cause the force increasing problems. The liquor laws had been designed to prevent the First Nations from drinking alcohol, but their terms also applied to the increasing numbers of white settlers in the late 1880s. Although some temperance groups applauded the measures, most settlers opposed them. Special permits to import alcohol for personal consumption could be granted, but these were not issued impartially, adding to

21546-501: The railway line. The force was increased in size to 500 in 1882 to cope with the increased tasks being demanded of it, and the police began to use the railway to bring in recruits more easily from the eastern provinces. The mounted police took on a range of tasks associated with the new project. Teams of police escorted the construction teams as they moved across the Rocky Mountains , having been given special jurisdiction over

21708-425: The railway staff went on strike for higher wages in 1883, the mounted police guarded the company's trains, escorted in new drivers and, when necessary, drove the locomotives themselves; two years later the police broke up a protest over unpaid wages by over a thousand construction workers, arresting the main leaders. The head of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Van Horne , thanked the force for its contribution to

21870-411: The region had been disputed since the American purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, and most of the influx of prospectors were American. Amid fresh concerns that the United States might annex the gold fields, the mounted police were tasked to assert Canadian control along the border line. The force set up control posts at the borders of the Yukon and at easily controlled mountain passes, equipping

22032-417: The region. The living conditions of the NWMP on the prairies were spartan and often uncomfortable, and only slowly improved over the course of the century. By 1896, the government planned to pass policing responsibilities to the provinces and ultimately disband the NWMP. However, with the discovery of gold in the Klondike , the NWMP was redeployed to protect Canada's sovereignty over the region and to manage

22194-413: The rest of Rupert's Land . It has been shortened from North-Western Territory and then North-West Territories . In Inuktitut , 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

22356-589: The road was built on top of a gravel berm, ranging from 1.2 to 2.4 m (3 ft 11 in to 7 ft 10 in), to insulate the permafrost from the road above. Some construction was completed by the Canadian Forces ; 3 Field Squadron, RCE from CFB Chilliwack built bridges over the Ogilvie River in 1971 and the Eagle River in 1977. The final section of road was completed in 1978, at

22518-412: The road was changed to the new town of Inuvik. Due to high costs and ongoing funding disagreements between the federal and Yukon governments, progress was slow until 1961. Once the Eagle Plains oil discovery was found to have no commercial potential, construction stopped in 1962 after 115 km (71 mi) of roadbed had been built. Seasonal maintenance of the existing road continued but no further work

22680-492: 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

22842-430: The south; it also touches Manitoba to the southeast at a quadripoint that includes Nunavut and Saskatchewan. The land area of the Northwest Territories 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

23004-504: 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 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

23166-408: The territories. The urban population grew significantly as new towns were established across the Prairies. Many of the immigrants were employed by the growing industries of the region, especially the large mining and manufacturing centres enabled by the Canadian Pacific Railway. As society changed, there were fears of immigrants and criminals exploiting the new rail network. As a result, there were

23328-544: 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 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

23490-564: 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

23652-573: 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 . 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,

23814-517: The trail and headed across the much drier and rougher prairies to the north-west. The police had no water bottles and soon both their food and water ran out; as the weather worsened, their horses began to die. When the force arrived at what they thought was Fort Whoop-Up at the junction of the Bow and South Saskatchewan rivers on September 10, there was nothing to be seen, as the fort was in fact around 75 miles (121 km) away. The police had expected

23976-408: The valley, falling back to more easily defensible locations; Inspector Francis Dickens was forced to flee Fort Pitt with his men on a makeshift boat. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 militia (the nascent Canadian army after the departure of British troops) commanded by Major-General Frederick Middleton hurried west along the Canadian Pacific Railway. Middleton split his forces into three groups and led

24138-456: The way, the police helped to distribute relief, including to the Métis communities affected by the rebellion, provided emergency medical assistance, and delivered mail to the more remote areas. Under the new patrol system, the mounted police travelled a total of 1,500,000 miles (2,400,000 km) on average each year on horseback. Backed by harsh sentences from the courts, the process virtually eliminated rural crime. A new system of controlling

24300-539: The west and Nunavut to the east, as well as four provinces: British Columbia to 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

24462-577: The whisky trade. These worries were amplified by calls from Washington for Ottawa to secure the frontier and so prevent American Indians from purchasing whisky in Canada. Mackenzie initially suggested sending a joint Canadian-United States military expedition, but, after the Governor General and others noted the serious implications of inviting the United States Army to deploy into Canadian territory, he instead agreed to deploy

24624-466: Was critical of the way that the Liberals had stood up the force, ordering an inspection in 1875 that concluded that "for a newly-raised force, hastily enrolled and equipped, it is in very fair order", but recommended a variety of improvements, including to the quality of the commissioned officers. Commissioner French was forced to resign the following year, and was replaced by James Macleod. Meanwhile,

24786-413: Was divided into six divisions, supported by 310 horses, 143 draught oxen and 187 Red River carts and wagons, in all stretching out 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along the track. The force took two 9-pounder (4 kg) guns and two mortars for additional protection, cattle for food, and mowing machines to make hay. French had negotiated that the expedition be accompanied by Henri Julien , a journalist whom

24948-554: Was done. In 1964, the road was renamed the Dempster Highway, after petitions by Vancouver Yukoners Association and the Yukon Order of Pioneers. Construction resumed in 1970 as the Canadian government sought to assert sovereignty over their Arctic territories after the American discovery of oil and gas deposits at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 1968. Work was further motivated by speculation that an oil pipeline might be built in

25110-600: 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

25272-401: Was established by the Canadian government during the ministry of Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald who defined its purpose as "the preservation of peace and the prevention of crime" in the vast NWT. Macdonald envisioned the police force as a para-military force, writing that the "best force would be mounted riflemen, trained to act as cavalry... and styled police". Macdonald's principal fear

25434-632: 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

25596-414: Was increased to 1,000 men in the aftermath of the rebellion, officially in order to cope with the growing white population, but also to prevent any future uprising by the Métis and First Nations. Levels of crime were initially low, with the police's implementation of the law relatively informal, and focused on upholding the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law, but the force soon faced new challenges as

25758-433: 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

25920-465: Was that the activities of American traders such as the Cypress Hills Massacre would lead to the First Nations peoples killing the American traders, which would lead to the United States military being deployed into the NWT to protect the lives of American citizens on the grounds that Canada was unable to maintain law and order in the region. Macdonald's greatest fear was that if the Americans occupied

26082-551: Was unsuited for military command and retired him from duty. Herchmer complained to the prime minister, who then dismissed him from the police altogether, replacing him with Aylesworth Perry , a career policeman and a supporter of the Liberal government. The mounted police influenced the creation of other imperial units during the conflict. Lord Strathcona , the Canadian High Commissioner in London, raised

26244-408: Was weak in Canada – the trade unions only had very limited legal rights – the number of industrial disputes grew significantly over this period. The resulting lockouts and strikes sometimes required armed government intervention. The militia was most commonly used for this purpose, but the mounted police were cheaper to deploy and were considered to be more politically reliable. As a result,

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