Provinces and territories of Canada north-west of the Canadian colony, known as Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory and assigned them to the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1870, the company relinquished its claims for £300,000 ($1.5 million), assigning the vast territory to the Government of Canada. Subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. The Northwest Territories were vast at first, encompassing all of current northern and western Canada, except for the British holdings in the Arctic islands and the Colony of British Columbia; the Territories also included the northern two-thirds of Ontario and Quebec, and almost all of
Yellowknife and 30,000 tonnes of cargo yearly. It has two asphalt runways, one strip and another of ; while the Yellowknife Airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency, it is certified for general aviation aircraft only. The Yellowknife airport is designated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a forward operating location for the CF-18 Hornet. Despite its shorter runways, the airport can still accommodate 747s and other wide-body aircraft for emergency landings. Air traffic control services, Instrument landing system (Category 1), and radar services are provided