Whitehorse () is the capital of

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, and the largest city in

Northern Canada Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, terr ...

. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the

Alaska Highway All of Yukon consists of a single federal electoral district and therefore there is only one Member of Parliament (MP) and 65% of Yukon's voters live in Whitehorse. Residents of the Yukon have been voting federally since a byelection returned the first Yukon MP in January 1903 and, from 1984 onward, have had candidates from at least four federal political parties to choose from. In 2006, 2008 and 2011, the choices have been:

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, Liberal, and NDP. Other parties that have contested the riding from 1984 onward include the Libertarian Party, the Rhinoceros Party, the three precursors of the Conservative Party (Reform Party, Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives), the National Party (1993) and the Christian Heritage Party. Liberal Brendan Hanley is Yukon's MP.

Judicial

All court matters are handled in Whitehorse at the Andrew Philipsen Law Building which also houses a law library. Yukon's Territorial Court (three judges) handles most adult criminal prosecutions under the criminal code and other federal statutes. The Supreme Court of Yukon has three resident judges and nine judges from NWT and

Nunavut Nunavut 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'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. The Court of Appeal, made up of justices from British Columbia, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut, sits in Whitehorse only one week of the year, so most appeals are heard in

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 cit ...

Military

The Canadian Armed Forces is represented in Whitehorse by Canadian Forces Detachment Yukon located in downtown Whitehorse, Regional Cadet Support Unit (North) was at Boyle Barracks (until a re-organization in 2012 amalgamated the cadet support unit into Regional Cadet Support Unit (NW) based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba) and the Canadian Rangers of the Whitehorse Patrol of 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group. 2685 Yukon Regiment Army Cadet Corps and 551 Whitehorse Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets of the Canadian Cadet Organizations also operate in Whitehorse. All units operate as part of Canadian Forces Joint Task Force (North). 440 Transport Squadron, and other units of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

, including the

Snowbirds Snowbird may refer to: Places * Snowbird, Utah, an unincorporated area and associated ski resort in the United States * Snowbird Lake, a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada * Snowbird Glacier, a hanging alpine glacier in the Talkeetna Moun ...

often operate and train out of Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, formerly RCAF Station Whitehorse. Boyle Barracks is located south of downtown Whitehorse. The facility houses Regional Cadet Support Unit (North), Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre, service support elements of Joint Task Force (North), and is used by 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, the Junior Canadian Rangers, and other units to conduct training. Boyle Barracks is located on the property of the unused Wolf Creek Juvenile Corrections Centre which is leased by the Department of National Defence from the Yukon Government. Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre offers a variety of courses and activities that focus on general training, leadership, and expedition training up to the instructor level. Courses are two, three, and six weeks long and are offered throughout the summer. Personnel are drawn primarily from the territories, but many come from across Canada. The training centre also hosts members of the United Kingdom's

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

and

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

Education

Whitehorse has several schools as part of a Yukon Government operated public school system. Except for ''École Émilie-Tremblay'', Yukon does not have school boards. However, each school has a council composed of three to seven elected positions for two-year terms, consisting of (and elected by) citizens residing in the school's assigned area and parents of students attending the school. All teachers are employed directly by the Department of Education, and there are no tuition fees to be paid to attend elementary and secondary institutions with the exception of the Wood Street School, which offers specialized experiential programs for high school students in the sciences and arts. Yukon schools follow British Columbia's school curriculum.

Primary education (K-3)

* Grey Mountain Primary

Elementary education (K-7)

* Christ the King Elementary (Catholic) * Elijah Smith Elementary * Golden Horn Elementary * Hidden Valley Elementary * Holy Family Elementary (Catholic) * Jack Hulland Elementary * Selkirk Elementary (French and English Immersion) * Takhini Elementary * École Whitehorse Elementary (French and late French Immersion)

Secondary education

* St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School (Catholic) * F.H. Collins Secondary School (English and French Immersion) * Porter Creek Secondary School

French First Language school (K-12)

* École Émilie-Tremblay

Specialized programs

* Wood St. School (programs are attended by students drawn from the high schools) * Individual Learning Centre (for students who have had trouble in the regular school program and are not attending school)

Post-secondary education

* Yukon University confers bachelor's degrees, diplomas, certificates as well as trades and vocational training and adult basic education. It is the only university based in Northern Canada.

Media

Broadcast

Radio

Facade of Whitehorse Star Building - Whitehorse - Yukon Territory - Canada

Whitehorse is also served by CIY270, a Weatheradio Canada station broadcasting at 162.400 MHz on the weather band.

Television

Local cable provider NorthwesTel hosts three local television channels: Community Cable 9, an advertisement slide-show channel and a public service channel.

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

operated an affiliate in Whitehorse, CFWH-TV, from 1968 to 2012. Initially served using the Frontier Coverage Package until Anik satellite broadcasts became available early in 1973; this transmitter was shut down on July 31, 2012, due to budget cuts. Until 2009, there was a low-powered repeater of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

's CITV-TV providing

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

programming to the area..

Print

Whitehorse's two major English-language newspapers are the '' Whitehorse Daily Star'' (founded as a weekly in 1900, it currently published three times per week) and the '' Yukon News'' (founded as a weekly in 1960 by Ken Shortt, published five days a week from 1967 to 1999, and currently prints twice weekly). Other local newspapers include '' What's Up Yukon'' (a local free music, arts, culture, events, weekly founded in 2005) and a French-language newspaper '' L'Aurore boréale'' (founded in 1983). The quarterly magazine ''Yukon, North of Ordinary'' started in 2007.

Infrastructure

Emergency services

Whitehorse contracts out its police service to the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

, with the main police station on 4th avenue in the city centre. Whitehorse's ambulance service are run by Yukon Government's Emergency Medical Services and is staffed by full-time Primary Care Paramedics (PCP) and Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP). Whitehorse's Search and Rescue (SAR) is ensured by a partnership between the RCMP, YG's Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) and volunteer SAR teams. RCMP in Whitehorse

Whitehorse has its own fire service, known as City of Whitehorse Fire Department (WHFD) with two fire stations. The first, Station #1, located in the city centre at the corner of Second Avenue and Steele Street, and Station #2 (305 B Range Road) atop "Two Mile Hill" on the west side, with room for three trucks. It was built in 2010 to become a public safety building. The original fire hall located along on the waterfront has been preserved as a historic building and cultural centre. The Fire Department currently operates with thirty-three full-time staff and approximately ten volunteers. Both fire stations are staffed 24/7 through a rotation of four platoons of six firefighters and one dispatcher. WHFD is equipped and trained to respond to Motor vehicle Accidents, high and low angle rescue, confined space, and static water ice rescue. Haz-mat, swift water and urban search and rescue are not under the department's current capabilities or can only be responded to at awareness levels. All medical emergencies are responded to by Yukon Government Emergency Medical Services. All aircraft emergencies are dealt with by the Eric Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport(ENWIA) ARFF fire department with mutual aid agreement activities from WHFD. Whitehorse Fire Department is professionally represented by the IAFF and the BCPFFA. Whitehorse Fire Department is the largest municipal fire department in the territory and the only professional one. Though they are 13% of the total population of firefighters in the territory, WHFD protects 82% of the population, and responds to 84% of fire calls within the Yukon. WHFD falls under the authority of the Yukon Fire Marshals Office (FMO) and reports directly to it. Fire and life safety inspection throughout the City of Whitehorse are conducted by the Whitehorse Fire Department duty crews as well as designated Fire Prevention Officers under the direction of Municipal Bylaw 2000–01 "Emergency Services Bylaw" with authority from the current edition of the National Fire Code of Canada. Wildland fire crews also operate in the summer to combat the forest fires across the territory. They will lend assistance to crews in B.C., Alberta, and the other territories as needed.

Energy grid

Yukon Energy operates four conventional hydroelectric generating stations: Whitehorse Dam (40 MW), Aishihik Lake (37 MW), Mayo A (5 MW), and Mayo B (10 MW), which provide the bulk of generation for the Yukon Energy grid. An additional 39 MW of diesel generation is maintained for supplemental back-up. Additionally, Yukon Energy operated two wind turbines near Whitehorse, which were decommissioned in 2018. Four new turbines are under construction and expected to begin feeding electricity into the grid during the winter of 2023/2024.

Health care

The first " White Horse General Hospital" (WGH) was built in the downtown area in 1902 with a 10-bed capacity. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

beds increased to 30, 10 beds were added in 1943, then 20 beds in 1949, and an operating wing was added in 1951. In 1959 the hospital was rebuilt on the other bank of the Yukon River, across from its previous location, but decision making was still based in Ottawa (National Health and Welfare, Medical Services Branch). The downtown area has several private medical, dental, and optometry clinics. In 1990, the Yukon Hospital Corporation (YHC) was created in order to prepare the transfer of powers regarding the hospital from the Federal Government to the Yukon Territorial Government. In April 1993 management of WGH was officially transferred to the YHC following a collaboration with the Yukon government and Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN, then CYI). Construction of the present building lasted from 1994 through 1997. Today Whitehorse General hospital counts 49 in-patient beds, 10 day-surgery beds, an ER department, OR suites and several medical imaging technologies.

Transportation

Air

Whitehorse is served by the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and has, as of 2022, scheduled service to

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 cit ...

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

, Victoria,

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

, Old Crow and

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...

. Seasonal scheduled service is provided to

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the 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 outlet of t ...

(nonstop),

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(via Yellowknife), and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(via Yellowknife), as well as

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany (nonstop). The airport was developed as part of the Northwest Staging Route in 1941–42 and has two long paved runways. A wartime-era hangar served as terminal building from about 1960, and was replaced in December 1985 with a modern terminal. Air North, a scheduled passenger and cargo airline operating

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

jetliners and

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

turboprops, is based in Whitehorse. Alkan Air provides charter and medical services and also operates a flying school. Alaska Highway Bridge

Roads

Surface access to Whitehorse is provided by a network of highways, including the international

Alaska Highway