| Regions of the Northwest Territories | |
| Category: | Territory |
| Territory: | Northwest Territories |
| Current Number: | 5 |
| Population Range: | 2,073 (Dehcho Region) — 23,144 (North Slave Region) |
| Government: | Administrative region |
| Subdivision: | Municipalities |
The Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories is subdivided into administrative regions in different ways for various purposes.
The Government of the Northwest Territory's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs divides the territory into five regions. Other services have adopted similar divisions for administrative purposes, making these the de facto regions of the territory. These divisions have no government of their own, but the Northwest Territories' government services are decentralized on a regional basis.
Some government departments make slight changes to this arrangement. For example, the Health and Social Services Authority groups Fort Resolution with the North Slave Region, and divides South Slave Region into two regions: Hay River and Fort Smith. The Department of Natural Resources uses the same borders, but calls the Inuvik Region "Beaufort Delta".
| Region | Regional offices(s)[1] | Population (2016) | Map | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dehcho Region | Fort Simpson | 2,073 | ||
| Inuvik Region | 6,372 | |||
| North Slave Region | Yellowknife Behchokǫ̀ (sub-office) | 23,144 | ||
| Sahtu Region | Norman Wells | 2,554 | ||
| Fort Smith Hay River (sub-office) | 7,764 |
Land and self-government treaties with First Nations, Inuvialuit (Inuit), and Métis groups give their governments a significant amount of authority to manage land use within agreed-upon areas. These areas are each much larger than the area fully owned by the indigenous government. Within each of these areas, the indigenous nation has jurisdiction over several areas of law, and land use is effectively co-governed by the territorial government and indigenous government.
A treaty also exists with the Salt River First Nation, but it establishes reserves rather than a joint land use area.
| Region | Indigenous government | Land claims | Self-government | Notes | Map | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acho Dene Koe Territory | Acho Dene Koe First Nation | An agreement-in-principle was signed 5 February 2014. | Self-government discussions are in early stages. | Land claimed includes land in the NWT, Yukon, and British Columbia. The NWT portion is in the southwest of the province, surrounding the hamlet of Fort Liard. | ||
| Akaitcho Territory | Akaitcho Territory Government | A comprehensive agreement is in discussion | North Slave Region east of Wekʼèezhìı and the eastern half of South Slave Region. The southern part of the region is in Treaty 8 territory, and the northern part is known as Chief Drygeese Territory. North Slave Métis Alliance also has claim to the area. The eastern portion of the land overlaps with claims by the Ghotelnene K’odtineh Dene. | |||
| Dehcho Region | Dehcho First Nations | none | In negotiation | Lands claimed approximate the Dehcho Region, although the Kaʼaʼgee Tu Band claims land farther east. The claim overlaps the Acho Dene Koe Territory in the southwest and overlaps with Katlʼodeeche Gotʼi Ndee in the east. | ||
| Gwichʼin Settlement Area | Gwichʼin Tribal Council
| Gwichʼin Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (1992) | Gwichʼin Tribal Council is negotiating a self-government agreement for all of Gwichʼin except the Nihtat Gwichʼin in Inuvik, which is negotiating its own agreement. | Borders the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and the communities of Aklavik and Inuvik fall under both land claims. Overlaps with land claimed by First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, which is based in Yukon. | ||
| Inuvialuit Settlement Region | Inuvialuit Regional Corporation[2] | Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984) | In negotiation. | Area covered by the agreement extends into Yukon. It borders the Gwichʼin Settlement Area and the communities of Aklavik and Inuvik fall under both land claims[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] | ||
| Katlʼodeeche Gotʼi Ndee | Kʼatlodeeche First Nation | none | South of Great Slave Lake. Its western boundary is approximately 50 km west of Highway 1, and its eastern boundary is approximately halfway through Wood Buffalo National Park. Its claimed land slightly overlaps in the west with claims by the Kaʼaʼgee Tu Band of the Dehcho First Nations. Half of its population lives in Hay River Reserve. | |||
| South Slave Metis Region | NWT Metis Nation | an agreement-in-principle has been signed | in early stages. | Located in the South Slave Region, with current Metis councils based in Hay River, Fort Smith, and Fort Resolution. It claims two cabin sites that overlap with land claims made by Kʼatlodeeche First Nation. | ||
| Sahtu Settlement Region | For land claims:
----For self-government:
| Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (1993) | In Délı̨nę district, the Délįnę Final Self-government Agreement is already in place. Each other district is in the process of negotiating their own self-government agreements. | Has the same borders as the Sahtu region. Subdivided into the Délįnę District, Tulita District, and K’asho Got’ine District. | ||
| Wekʼèezhìı | Tłı̨chǫ Government | Tłįchǫ Land Claims and Self-government Agreement | Comprises the western half of North Slave Region, excluding the city of Yellowknife. Also called Tłįchǫ Region, after the people who live there, but this is distinct from "Tłįchǫ lands", which are the lands within Wekʼèezhìı that are fully owned by the Tłįchǫ Government. | |||
Statistics Canada divides the territory into six census divisions. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. They are listed below with their most populous municipality on the right:
Prior to the 2011 census, there were two census divisions. The former census division of Inuvik was considerably larger than the administrative region of the same name.
Prior to the division of the NWT and the creation of Nunavut in 1999, there were five census divisions. Their boundaries were altered somewhat as part of the adjustment.