Stuart Milton Hodgson, sometimes known as Stu, OC (April 1, 1924 – December 18, 2015) was the

commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories (french: Commissaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner s ...

(NWT) from March 2, 1967 until April 6, 1979. The first Commissioner to actually reside in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, he was a leader in the construction of a semiautonomous, responsible self-government run by residents of the territory. He was appointed as a

citizenship judge The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The overall mandate of the Commission is to assess referred applications to ensure they meet the residence or physical-presence ...

in British Columbia in December 1997 and served until 2005. Born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, the second son of Allan and Mary Hodgson, Hodgson was one of the founders of the

Arctic Winter Games The Arctic Winter Games is a biennial multi-sport and indigenous cultural event involving circumpolar peoples residing in communities or countries bordering the Arctic Ocean. Background The Arctic Winter Games were founded in 1969 under the lea ...

- which began in

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

in 1970 for athletes from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, and the NWT – and which now also include

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, parts of Arctic

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, as well as

Northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the cent ...

and

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...

(Northern Quebec), and the new territory

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

which was formed from NWT in 1999. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 18, 1970 for his service to labour and government. Subsequently he received the Queen's commemorative medals for her silver, golden, and the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

(2012); as well as the Canada 125 medal in 1992. When rapid changes in socio-economic conditions threatened the continuity of Inuit oral history, Commissioner Hodgson urged the taping of elders' stories. In 1974, the residents of

Pangnirtung Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ) is an Inuit hamlet, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. Pangnirtung is situated on a coastal plain at the coast of ...

(since then becoming part of Nunavut) presented the Commissioner with eleven stories which were later compiled into a book. Hodgson was nicknamed " Umingmak" by the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

. For his services in the NWT, he was presented the public service's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1976. From 1942-45 he served with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

on convoy duty in the North Atlantic for which he received the 1939–1945 Star,

Atlantic Star The Atlantic Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War. Two cl ...

and other World War II medals. From 1979 to 1981 he was Canadian co-chairman of the U.S.-Canadian

International Joint Commission The International Joint Commission (french: Commission mixte internationale) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its responsibilities were expa ...

. He was recruited by Premier

William R. Bennett William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. He was a son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, ...

of British Columbia to run

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...

for a time in the 1980s. He was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of the

BC Transit BC Transit is a provincial crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. In , the syst ...

in 1985. Hodgson died on December 18, 2015, aged 91.

Legacy

The Hodgson Trophy was created and awarded beginning in 1978 for fair play and team spirit during the

References

External links

20th Anniversary Celebration including Commissioner Hodgson
* ttp://www.rcmpveteransvancouver.com/distinguished-member-of-the-force-stuart-milton-hodgson/ Profile www.rcmpveteransvancouver.com; accessed February 2, 2019.
Obituary
legacy.com; accessed February 2, 2019.
Stuart M. Hodgson fonds. Northwest Territories Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Stuart 1924 births 2015 deaths Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Commissioners of the Northwest Territories Officers of the Order of Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Politicians from Vancouver Canadian citizenship judges Northwest Territories Deputy Commissioners Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II