Norman Wells, Northwest Territories
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Norman Wells (
Slavey language Slavey ( ; also Slave, Slavé) is a group of Athabaskan languages and a dialect continuum spoken amongst the Dene peoples of Canada in the Northwest Territories – or central Denendeh – where it also has official status.Sahtu Region The Sahtu Region is an administrative region in Canada's Northwest Territories. Coterminous with the settlement region described in the 1993 Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, of the Sahtu is collectively owned by its I ...
,
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, Canada. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional office, is situated on the north side of the
Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...
and provides a view down the valley of the Franklin and Richardson mountains.


Demographics

In the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Norman Wells had a population of 673 living in 269 of its 404 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 778. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. A total of 315 people identified as
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
, and of these, 195 were
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
, 80 were
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
, 15 were
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
and 20 gave multiple Indigenous responses. The main languages in the town are North Slavey and English. Of the population, 78.1% is 15 and older, with the median age being 32.8, slightly less than the NWT averages of 79.3% and 34.0.


History

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
was first seen by Alexander Mackenzie during his exploration of the river in 1789 but it was not until 1911 that an oil bearing formation was discovered.
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...
, a major employer in the town, was established in the area in 1937 with a
refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...
built in 1939. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Norman Wells was deemed important as a source of oil for military operations in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
and
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 ...
. The
Canol Road The Canol Road was part of the Canol Project and was built to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories southwest to Whitehorse, Yukon, during World War II. The pipeline no longer exists, but the long Yukon portion of th ...
and Canol Project was undertaken to enable the piping of oil to
Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...
, with the flow starting in 1944. Although Norman Wells crude was light and easily flowed at temperatures as low as , the line did not work well and was shut down shortly after the war ended. The road, which began at Canol Camp across the river, was abandoned. The road's remains now make up the Canol Heritage Trail in the NWT. The Norman Wells Proven Area Agreement of 1944 is a partnership between Imperial Oil and the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
(administered by
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
) that has lasted to this day. The completion of an oil pipeline from Norman Wells to
Zama City Zama City is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in northwestern Alberta, Canada within Mackenzie County. It is located north of Zama Lake along Zama Road, which branches off the Mackenzie Highway (Highway 35) approximately north of High Level, Alberta ...
in 1985 connected to the North American pipeline grid and resulted in increased activity.


Indigenous people

The Norman Wells Metis, a Métis group which is signatory to the
Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, is a comprehensive lands claim agreement between The Crown in the right of Canada and the Dene and Métis of the Sahtu area in the Northwest Territories. The agreement was signed by ...
, are currently negotiating self-government powers and recently signed a framework agreement towards a new treaty.


Transportation

Norman Wells is accessible by navigating the
Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...
in summer, or by driving over the winter
ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...
, December to March, that connects with Wrigley and
Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...
. The most common method of travel into Norman Wells is by air via the Norman Wells Airport and the town is connected with both
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 ...
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 ...
. Scheduled flights are provided by
Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region ...
and
North-Wright Airways North-Wright Airways or North Wright Air is an airline based in Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada. It operates commuter services to several communities in the Northwest Territories as well as charter services. Their main base is Nor ...
. Beginning in June 2010 and until its amalgamation with Canadian North,
First Air Bradley Air Services Limited, operated as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
offered a scheduled service into the community. In the summer
floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
access to the town is possible at the Norman Wells Water Aerodrome. During the summer months there are barge services,
sealift Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such as ...
s to the town by Marine Transportation Services from Hay River and Cooper Barging Services from Fort Simpson. Other aviation companies that have a presence in the community include Canadian Helicopters and
Air Tindi Air Tindi is an airline based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. It operates scheduled and on demand charter services. Its main base is Yellowknife Airport and the airline was previously owned by the Arychuk family. The name Tindi m ...
.


Services

Services include a three-member
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 ...
detachment and a community health centre with two
nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
with dental visits two or three times a year. There is a branch of the
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...
and two grocery stores including the Northern store and Rampart Rentals along with three hotels and two restaurants. Norman Wells also has a liquor store, currently the only one in the Sahtu Region. Phone service is provided by
Northwestel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and part of northe ...
with cable television and Internet access available.
Mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
services are available through
Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on ...
or Northwestel's Latitude Wireless service, which is now owned by Bell. Former member of parliament for the Western Arctic,
Ethel Blondin-Andrew Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew (born 25 March 1951) is a Canadian politician, educator, and public servant. She became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Parliament of Canada in 1988 when she became a member of Parliament for the ...
, has a consulting service, Mountain Dene Ventures, in the town.Doing Business in Norman Wells
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Education

The community is part of the Sahtu Divisional Education Council and they operate, through the Norman Wells District Education Authority, the Mackenzie Mountain School. The school, which has an enrolment of 150, provides education from Junior Kindergarten to
Grade 12 Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...
. Aurora College has a presence in the community with a community learning centre and a career centre.


Climate

Norman Wells has a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfc'') with summer lasting for about three months. Although winter temperatures are usually below freezing, every month of the year has seen temperatures above . Rainfall averages and snowfall . On average, there are 35.9 days between November and April, when the
wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...
is equal to or below −40, which indicates that
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...
may occur within 5–10 minutes. Wind chills can drop below −48 indicating that frostbite can occur in less than 5 minutes. On 8 July 2023, Norman Wells experienced a temperature of and on 4 February 1947 a minimum of .


See also

*
List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is the most populous of Canada's three territories with 41,070 residents as of 2021 and is the second-largest territory in land area at . The Northwest Territories' 24 municipalities cover only of the territo ...


References


External links


NormanWells.com
{{Authority control Communities in the Sahtu Region Towns in the Northwest Territories Populated places on the Mackenzie River Road-inaccessible communities of the Northwest Territories