History of Northwest Territories capital cities

Effectively providing services and representation for the population has been a particular challenge for the Territories' government, a task often complicated by the region's vast and changing geographic area.

The only other political division in Canada without a seat of government inside its own boundaries was the defunct District of Keewatin that existed from 1876 until 1905.

In Canada, it is customary for provincial and territorial level government to have the administrative centre of the civil service in the same city as the legislative branch.

[2] In 1869, Ontario Member of Parliament William McDougall was appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories and sent to Fort Garry to establish formal governance for Canada.

Before his party arrived at the settlement, a small group led by Louis Riel intercepted him near the Ontario border and forced him to turn back because they opposed the transfer to the Canadian government.

[3] The rebellion resulted in the creation of the Province of Manitoba (inclusive of Fort Garry) and a delay in establishing governance in the Territories.

Along with the new seat of power, a new council greatly reduced in size was appointed along with a new Lieutenant Governor to specifically lead the Territories without also governing Manitoba.

[10] The Swan River North-West Mounted Police Barracks, inside Fort Livingstone, became the temporary assembly building for legislative-council sessions as well as the office for the Lieutenant Governor.

[9] Fort Livingstone continued to serve as a small outpost until being totally destroyed by a prairie grass fire in 1884.

The nearest modern settlement to the original Fort Livingstone site is Pelly, Saskatchewan, four kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south.

The first election took place in 1881, after electoral districts were created by royal proclamations, issued the order of the Lieutenant Governor.

[7] Battleford hosted the first official royal visit in western Canada, when the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise Caroline Alberta toured the territories in 1881.

[13] After consultation with Canadian Pacific Railway officials, Lieutenant Governor Edgar Dewdney made the decision to move the capital to Regina, also in present-day Saskatchewan, in June 1882.

[8] The decision to move the capital was controversial with the public because Edgar Dewdney owned real estate in Regina.

[8] After Edgar Dewdney ordered that the government be moved south to meet the railway in Regina, it was confirmed as the new territorial capital on March 27, 1883.

In 1897, after control of the executive council was ceded to elected members from the Lieutenant-Governors, a short-lived period of party politics evolved that challenged the consensus model of government that had been used since 1870.

The Northwest Territories, reduced to its northern, lightly populated hinterland, continued to exist under the 1870s constitutional status under control of the federal government.

[15] In 1905, under the direction of Wilfrid Laurier, the Northwest Territories seat of government was moved to Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada.

During this 16-year lapse in legislative government, no new laws were created, and the Territories and its population were severely neglected even with the services provided at the time.

[19] The council held meetings in school gymnasiums, community halls, board rooms, or any suitable infrastructure.

The first services included an agent from the Department of Indian Affairs, a medical doctor, and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station.

The Carrothers Commission was tasked to evaluate and recommend changes to the Northwest Territories to deal with an array of outstanding issues regarding self-government in the north.

In prior years, the decision to change the seat of government had always been made without consulting Northwest Territories residents.

[26] Yellowknife officially became the capital on September 18, 1967,[27] after the Carrothers commission chose it for its central location, transportation links, industrial base and residents' preferences.

[28] The Northwest Territories marked a new era when the legislative council moved into a newly constructed legislature building on November 17, 1993.

The legislature building was constructed to feature themes derived from the Inuit culture, which signaled that the government was sensitive to the ethnicity of the resident population.

After the selection of Yellowknife as the capital in 1967, many residents in the eastern Arctic continued to feel unrepresented by the territorial government, and many movements and groups were formed to remedy the situation.