The Great Shrinking: How one Canadian territory lost half its land
Once a vast expanse covering much of modern Canada, the Northwest Territories has been steadily whittled away. From its massive 19th-century borders to its current boundaries, the story of this northern region is one of constant division, political negotiation, and the creation of new frontiers.
In 1870, the Northwest Territories entered Canadian Confederation as a massive, sparsely populated region. At that time, it encompassed much of what is now the Canadian Prairies, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, and Labrador, as well as most of present-day Nunavut. It was a territory of immense proportions, acting as a vast precursor to the modern Canadian map.
The territory's borders have been altered four times since its inception. The first major reductions occurred as provinces like Manitoba (1881), Alberta, and Saskatchewan (1905) were carved out. The most significant change, however, occurred on April 1, 1999, when the eastern portion was split to create the new territory of Nunavut. This single event reduced the Northwest Territories' area by more than half.
Despite these reductions, the region remains a landscape of extremes. It contains the deepest body of water in North America, Great Slave Lake, which reaches 614 metres deep. The climate varies from the subarctic boreal forest in the south to a polar climate in the northern islands. While the territory's land area is roughly equivalent to combining France, Portugal, and Spain, its geography is defined by the interplay of the Mackenzie Mountains and the Arctic Archipelago.
Today, the territory is a place of profound cultural significance, with Indigenous peoples making up 50.4% of the population. It is home to the Dene, the Inuvialuit, and the Métis, with the southern portion known as Denendeh—an Athabaskan name meaning 'our land'.
Source: Northwest Territories
