Northwest Territories (french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a federal
electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
represented in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
. The electoral district covers the entire territory.
This riding was created in 1962 from
Mackenzie River riding. It was composed of the entire
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
of 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. ...
. In 1979, the riding was divided into the ridings of Western Arctic and Nunatsiaq (later
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'' ...
). Following the creation of the territory of
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'' ...
in 1999, the riding of Western Arctic was made coterminous with the new Northwest Territories.
After 1999, Western Arctic was an anomaly in that, unlike Nunavut and
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 ...
, it did not share the name of the territory with which it was coterminous. This did not change with subsequent
representation order
Representation may refer to:
Law and politics
*Representation (politics), political activities undertaken by elected representatives, as well as other theories
** Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a ...
s because the electoral boundaries revision process did not affect the territories and the territorial riding names were specified in law. In 2014, at the behest of Western Arctic MP
Dennis Bevington
Dennis Fraser Bevington (born March 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician from the Northwest Territories, and was the member of Parliament for the riding of Northwest Territories from 2006 until 2015. Born in Fort Smith, he served as mayor from 1 ...
, the riding name was changed to Northwest Territories by Bill C-37, which also changed the names of several other ridings scheduled to come into effect with the representation order for the next election. Unlike those names, the change to Northwest Territories came into effect immediately as it involved amending the ''Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act'' itself.
[Parliament of Canada]
"Northwest Territories (Northwest Territories) 2014-"
''History of Federal Ridings since 1867.'' Consulted 2014-08-27.
From 1887 to 1905, the only areas of the NWT with representation in Parliament were those areas that became part of present-day provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and western Manitoba). From 1905 to 1947, the NWT was not represented in Parliament. From 1947 to 1962, the southwestern NWT was represented only by the electoral district of
Yukon—Mackenzie River
Yukon—Mackenzie River was a federal electoral district in Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1953. It covered the Yukon Territory, and the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories. This riding was c ...
and then
Mackenzie River. In 1962, the electoral district of NWT was created to represent the entire territory, for the first time giving all Canadian territory a representative in Parliament.
This riding's boundaries remained the same following the
2012 redistribution.
Demographics
:''According to the
Canada 2021 Census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
''
Ethnic groups: 49.6% Native Canadian, 38.2% White, 4.1% Filipino, 2.6% Black, 1.9% South Asian
Languages: 76% English, 3.3% Tlicho, 2.8% French, 1.9% Slavey, 1.9% Tagalog, 1% Dene
Religions: 55.2% Christian (21% Catholic, 8.1% Anglican, 2% United Church, 1.9% Pentecostal and other Charismatic 1.5% Baptist), 39.8% No religion, 1.8% Muslim
Average income: $69 400
Members of Parliament
Following the division into Western Arctic and Nunatsiaq, the riding's first MP was Progressive Conservative MP Dave Nickerson, who was first elected in 1979 and re-elected twice. In the 1988 election, Nickerson was defeated by Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew who went on to serve as the riding's MP for eighteen years, including two years as Minister of State for Northern Development. In 2006, Blondin-Andrew was defeated by New Democrat Dennis Bevington. The earlier riding of Northwest Territories had been represented by New Democrat Wally Firth from 1972 to 1979.
This riding has elected the following
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
:
Election results
Northwest Territories (2014–present)
Western Arctic (1979–2014)
Northwest Territories (1962–1974)
Federal riding associations
Riding association
An electoral district association (french: association de circonscription enregistrée), commonly known as a riding association (french: association de comté) or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the ...
s are the local branches of the national political parties:
See also
*
List of Canadian federal electoral districts
This is a list of Canada's 338 federal electoral districts (commonly referred to as '' ridings'' in Canadian English) as defined by the ''2013 Representation Order''.
Canadian federal electoral districts are constituencies that elect member ...
*
Past Canadian electoral districts
This is a list of past arrangements of Canada's electoral districts. Each district sends one member to the House of Commons of Canada. In 1999 and 2003, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario was elected using the same districts within that provinc ...
References
External links
Riding history for Northwest Territories (1962–1976) from theLibrary of Parliament
The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...
{{Ridings in the Territories
Northwest Territories federal electoral districts
Former federal electoral districts of Northwest Territories