This is a list of territorial elections in

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. ...

, Canada since 1870. The Northwest Territories operates on a consensus government using the

First Past the Post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

electoral system. The territory does not presently recognize political parties.

Voting and consensus government

Northwest Territories elects members to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

under a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...

system known as consensus government. The election only decides who represents each district. The newly elected members of the assembly convene after the election to vote amongst themselves to decide which members become part of the Executive Council.Making sense of consensus government CBC Radio clip October 22, 1985
accessed April 13, 2006 This system of government has evolved in the Northwest Territories since 1870. The voting method to elect members is the

electoral system. Voters under this system pick the top candidate by the number of votes cast regardless of the percent of votes earned by a candidate. With a few historical exceptions all electoral districts in the Northwest Territories are represented by a single member. First Past the Post has been used since the first election in 1881.

Elections NWT Elections NWT (french: Élections TNO) is an independent, non-partisan public agency responsible for the administration of territorial general elections, by-elections, and plebiscites in accordance with the ''Elections and Plebiscites Act''. Electi ...

is the independent regulatory body in charge of overseeing elections.

History of elections

The

has been through a number of distinct changes in how the territory is governed and how government has been selected. These changes have coincided with several major boundary changes since the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

acquired the territory in 1870.Territorial evolution in Canada
accessed April 13, 2006 From 1870 to 1876 the North-West Territories was run by an interim government, first led by lieutenant-governor William McDougall, and a council appointed by Ottawa. This council was governed under the ''Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869'' and the ''Manitoba Act, 1870'' The council itself sat in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and was made up of Members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.History of Northwest Territories in Confederation
April 13, 2006 In 1876 the Temporary Council was dissolved and a new council was appointed under the ''North-West Territories Act''. Members could be elected to join the council if an area of had 1,000 inhabitants. The first such electoral districts were created in 1881.Electoral Districts created by proclamation Northwest Territories Ordinances 1881
accessed April 13, 2006 According to the Act, when the council reached twenty members, it would gain control of territorial affairs from the crown. The Council achieved this requirement in 1886. The council was renamed to an assembly and was dissolved in 1888. Twelve elections to rotate and elect members to new districts were held during the period between 1876 and 1888.Election Results and Dates 1876 - 1905 from Saskatchewan Archives
accessed April 13, 2006 Five general elections would occur between 1888 and 1905, as the territories underwent significant growth. In 1897 after an amendment to the North-West Territories Act, the territories experienced a short-lived period of partisan politics that led to the North-West Territories Liberal-Conservative PartyElection Results by party printed in the

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

various dates May 1902 being elected in the fourth and fifth elections until 1905. The government in this period was made of members from the populated regions in the south. No members from the Arctic region would sit in government until 1947.History of the Northwest Territories from the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly
accessed April 13, 2006 In 1905,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

were carved out of the North-West Territories. As a result, the population dropped from approx 160,000 to 17,000, of which 16,000 were aboriginal and had no right to vote under Canadian law. The government of the North-West Territories defaulted back to its 1870 constitutional status, and once again came under federal control. This period of the second council, which governed from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, lasted from 1905 to 1951. In 1951, the second council was dissolved in order to return to elections. Rather than being fully elected body, the Councils and Assemblies were a mix of elected and appointed members. After 1975 the Assembly became fully elected. In 1999 the Northwest Territories underwent one last division as the territory of

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

was created out of the eastern half of the territory. The boundary changes have resulted in a disconnect in four periods of the territorial government. The records of the temporary council falls under the archives of the Manitoba government, while the archives and electoral records of the period of government from 1876 to 1905 were retained by the Saskatchewan government. The archives of the council from 1905 to 1951 are under the Canadian Government who appointed the council from that period. Image:Canada Provinces Territories 1870.png, In 1870, NWT covered much of Canada. The government was in the south part of the territory. A number of boundary changes would occur over the next 35 years but have little effect on the government until 1905. Image:Canada Provinces Territories 1905.png, The Northwest Territories boundary change in 1905 marked a major shift in the territorial government and demographics of the remaining population. Image:Canada Provinces Territories 1949.png, The government evolved again under the 1912 to 1999 boundaries. The issue of splitting the territory in half surfaced in the early 1960s. Image:Northwest Territories, Canada.svg, The current Northwest Territories as of 1999 was decided by a series of plebiscites and capped over a decade of consultation, committee work and land claim agreements.

List of elections

Notes

References

External links

Government of Northwest TerritoriesElections Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest Territories Elections Act
* ttp://www.rootsweb.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/territorialassembly.html Personnel of Northwest Territories Assembly 1888 - 1905 {{DEFAULTSORT:Northwest Territories General Elections * Northwest Territories general elections Elections, general