Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories building was finished in 1993. The design of the current Legislature building was created by Pin/Taylor Architects company from Yellowknife. The current Legislative Assembly is the 18th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. It is the 26th sitting of the territorial assembly since 1870. The territories has fixed election date legislation that ensures elections are held every four years on the first Monday in October. The most recent general election, which was the 23rd general election was held on November 23, 2015. The legislature since 1905 is a non-partisan body and all members run and sit as independents. The seven ministers of
Yellowknife Yellowknife began with the discovery of diamonds north of the city in 1991. The last of the gold mines in Yellowknife closed in 2004. Today, Yellowknife is primarily a government town and a service centre for the diamond mines. On April 1, 1999, its purview as capital of the NWT was reduced when the territory of Nunavut was split from the NWT. As a result, jurisdiction for that region of Canada was transferred to the new capital city of Iqaluit. Consequently, Yellowknife lost its standing as the Canadian capital city with the smallest population. Yellowknife is on the Canadian Shield,