The

Canadian territory Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

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'' ...

, which was established in 1999 from 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. ...

by the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, is divided into three regions. Though these regions have no governments of their own, Nunavut's territorial government services are highly decentralized on a regional basis.. In addition, these regions serve as census divisions for

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

(though the Qikiqtaaluk and Kivalliq regions are known as the "Baffin Region" and the "Keewatin Region" to the agency). It is a misconception that Nunavut's regions constitute the former regions of the

(NWT), separated in their entirety. This is not the case, rather, the portions of the regions of the Northwest Territories that ended up in the newly created territory were retained and had their borders slightly adjusted upon the creation of Nunavut. The regional divisions are distinct from the district system of dividing the Northwest Territories that dated to 1876 and was abolished when Nunavut was created, although for practical purposes had not been used since the 1980s. Nunavut encompasses the entirety of the

District of Keewatin The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the ''Keewatin Act'', and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became a ...

(which had differing boundaries from the Keewatin/Kivalliq regions), the majority of the

District of Franklin The District of Franklin was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the Canadian high Arctic Islands, notably Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island, and Victoria Island. The district also cont ...

and a small portion of the

District of Mackenzie The District of Mackenzie was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the portion of the Northwest Territories directly north of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan on Canada's mainl ...

List

References

{{Canada topic, List of regions of Regions