History of the capitals of the North-Western territories

In 1868, the Government of Canada passed according to which the Rupert Land and Northwest Territory were acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company for 300,000 pounds . At that time these were mostly uninhabited lands for which no maps existed. After the acquisition, the government decided to combine both purchases under the same jurisdiction and form a single governing body for them.

In 1869, William McDougall ( Ontario MP) was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories and traveled through the United States to to begin formal administration on behalf of the Canadian government. However, local settlers, dissatisfied with the actions of the authorities, began an uprising led by Louis Riel , and did not let him into Fort Harry. The Government of Canada made an agreement with the rebels, and on July 5, 1870, the Canadian Confederation included both the Northwest Territories and the Manitoba Province, formed on the lands of the Red River Valley ; in accordance with the "Act on the interim administration of 1870" Fort Harry became the administrative center of both territorial entities. Adams George Archibald was appointed Lieutenant Governor of both Manitoba and the Northwest Territories in 1870.

In 1872, Adams George Archibald was replaced by as a combined lieutenant governor of two administrative units. He created the (consisting mainly of members of the newly formed Manitoba Legislative Assembly); The Lieutenant Governor and the Provisional Council, in accordance with , administered the Northwest Territories outside the borders of the province of Manitoba.

The Provisional Council was updated annually by the Government of the Confederation until 1875, when it was decided to form a new government, which will be located on the lands of the Northwest territories itself. Fort Harry remained the seat of government in Manitoba, and gradually developed into Winnipeg .

In accordance with the “Act on the Northwest Territories of 1875” (which entered into force on October 7, 1876), the Provisional Council of the Northwest Territories was dissolved and a permanent government was formed in its place. As the temporary seat of the , the North West Mounted Police Station, located in the west of Manitoba, founded in 1875, was chosen (on the lands of the modern Saskatchewan province). The residence of the lieutenant governor and the venue of the meetings of the Legislative Council was the barracks building located on the territory of the fort. This became possible because in 1876 the main mounted police forces were transferred to to combat the illegal trade in whiskey.

In 1875, the Canadian Pacific Railway , under construction, reached Winnipeg from the east. In 1876, Lieutenant Governor decided to make the recently founded , through which the railway was planned to lead further west, the permanent capital of the Northwest Territories.

After being deployed to Battleford, the normal development of the administrative system of the Northwest Territories began. The constituencies were established by royal decree, and in 1881 the first elections to the Legislative Assembly took place (until that time all its members were appointed). In 1881, Battleford was visited by the Marquis of Lorne (Governor General of Canada) with his wife, Princess Louise .

In June 1882, Lieutenant Governor , having consulted with representatives of the Canadian Pacific Railway on its further route, decided to transfer the capital of the Northwest Territories to the south, to the Vaskan River. The decision caused a huge scandal, since it was there that Dyudney owned land holdings.

On March 27, 1883, a city was officially founded on the new site, which Princess Louise gave the name Regina in honor of her mother, Queen Victoria .

During their stay in Regine, the government tried to provide access to federal services to the inhabitants of vast territories. The growing number of settlers, the responsibility for the Klondike region , the constant struggle with the federal government to increase legislative powers, problems with a small tax base - all this reduced the efficiency of operations. During this period, the government gradually transferred powers to elected members. After control over the Executive Council was transferred from the lieutenant governor to elected members in 1897, a short period came when political parties began to determine the direction of the government.

In 1905, the Prime Minister of the Northwest Territories concluded an agreement with the Government of Canada that, starting September 1, the southern, most populated parts of the Northwest Territories became separate provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta with their own legislative and executive authorities . The northwestern territories remained the northern most sparsely populated lands, which continued to exist in accordance with the law of 1870 under the control of federal authorities. Regina became the capital of Saskatchewan, and a new Council of the Northwest Territories began to sit in Ottawa in Ontario.

In 1905, by order of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian capital city of Ottawa became the seat of government of the Northwest Territories. After the allocation of the most populated lands to certain provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, there were almost no settlements in the region with significant infrastructure or population. The Neo-Neutian population of these lands at that time was about 1 thousand people; Nobody considered the Inuit , since Canadian law did not provide for them any status, and they did not have settlements.

Since the administrative situation returned to the conditions of 1870, the commissar appointed by the authorities became the daily life of the North-Western territories. The first commissioner of the Northwest Territories was . He ensured the placement in 1911 in Fort Smith of some civil services (court, bank, etc.), making this settlement the administrative capital of the Northwest Territories.

In 1921, after a 16-year break, the Council of the Northwest Territories was re-formed. It consisted of senior officials living and working in Ottawa, there was not a single resident of the Territory itself. Democracy returned to the Territory only in 1951, when general elections were held there, thanks to which three representatives were elected to the Council (another five members of the Council were appointed by the federal authorities). After the elections, the Council began to alternate the venues of its meetings: they began to take place not only in Ottawa, but also in suitable premises (schools, assembly halls, etc.) of various settlements of the North-Western territories.

Since 1911, Fort Smith became the administrative capital of the Northwest Territories. It housed an agent for the Department of Indian Affairs, a physician, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Station. Fort Smith was chosen because of its development and its geographical location: it was possible to get here by boat from the terminal station of the railway in the province of Alberta, and from there access to water routes over a vast territory was opened. Even after the capital was transferred to Yellowknife, many services continued to operate from Fort Smith, as the new capital did not yet have the necessary infrastructure.

In 1965, the Government of Canada established the Northwest Territories Management Development Commission under the direction of , which was therefore commonly called the . Her task was to develop and evaluate measures relating to the creation of self-government in the North. One of the most notable results of its activities was the selection of a new location for the authorities of the Territory.

Thanks to intensive communication with local residents, they were able to influence the conclusions of the commission (before that, almost all decisions regarding the Territories were taken somewhere far from them). For two years, the commission visited almost all communities and talked with a huge number of people on the ground. The Commission proposed five options as candidates for the role of the official capital: Hay River , Fort Simpson , Fort Smith, Inuvik and Yellowknife . Most residents of the Northwest Territories believed that Fort Smith would be chosen, since administrative services were already located there.

Since September 18, 1967, Yellowknife officially became the capital of the Northwest Territories. The Carroters Commission chose it for its central location, transport accessibility, industrial opportunities and taking into account the preferences of local residents. However, in 1967, Yellowknife was not yet ready to assume the functions of the capital, and for many years Fort Smith continued to remain the seat of administrative services, and the Government Council continued the practice of holding legislative sessions in various localities.

On November 17, 1993, the Legislative Council entered a new, purpose-built building. It was the first building in 88 years (from the moment of moving to Regina) that was specially built for the government of the Northwest Territories. Gradually, all civil services gathered in Yellowknife, and the Territory government regained authority lost since 1905.

Lessons related to transfers of the capital of the Northwest Territories were taken into account when the process of separating their eastern part into a separate territory of Nunavut began at the end of the 20th century: in 1995 a plebiscite was held on the capital of the future Territory, in which Iqaluit received twice as much votes than Rankin-Inlet .

• Seats of Government (Capitals) (unopened) (link not available) . - An archival copy of the history of capitals in the province of Alberta. Archived on June 1, 2000.