History of Northwest Territories capital cities from Battleford to Regina, faced controversy because he owned property in Regina. After the territorial government moved to Ottawa, the government was often resented for being so far away. The Carrothers Commission spent two years visiting nearly every community in the territory and consulting with residents, community leaders, business people, and territorial politicians. The Carrothers Commission investigated and considered five communities for the capital: Hay River, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Inuvik and Yellowknife. Many people in the Northwest Territories believed that Fort Smith would win since it already housed the Territories' civil service. Yellowknife officially became the capital on September
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,