Districts of the Northwest Territories
The vastness of Canada's Northwest Territories (spelled 'North-West Territories' from 1870 to 1905) meant that for much of its history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration. The number and size of these territorial districts varied as other provinces and territories of Canada were created and expanded. The districts of the Northwest Territories were abolished in 1999 with the creation of Nunavut territory and the contraction of the Northwest Territories to its current size.
The North-West Territories were administered as a single entity, with no districts, from 1870 to 1882.
In 1870 Canada gained control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company. That same year, a small piece of Rupert's Land was formed into the province of Manitoba, but the rest of the area was merged and renamed the North-West Territories. This region included the vast bulk of Canada's present day landmass and covered an area about the size of western Europe.
In 1876 the North-West Territories contracted in size when a large area of 590,932 km2 (228,160 sq mi), between Manitoba and Ontario and along the entire west coast of Hudson Bay, was established by Canada as a territory named the District of Keewatin. This autonomous territory is not to be confused with the 'districts' which would later be created within the North-West Territories.
In 1880 the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was ceded to Canada by the United Kingdom and this land was added to the North-West Territories.
- Not to be confused with the District of Keewatin (1876-1905), an autonomous independent entity that was not part of NWT.
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