Territories of Canada have no inherent jurisdiction and only have those powers delegated to them by the federal government.
A hallmark of politics in the Northwest Territories is that it operates as under a “consensus government” system.
Candidates for election to the territorial legislature do not stand as members of a political party.
As a result, the Members of the Legislative Assembly select a Premier by way of a secret ballot, rather than on the basis of party affiliation (see Responsible government).
This includes not only the loss of local government authority from the period from 1905 to 1951, when Ottawa asserted direct control over the governance of the territory, but also related matters of aboriginal self-governance and land claims.