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
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories 1967 the Carrothers Commission moved the territorial capital from Ottawa to Yellowknife and for the first time elected members represented all parts of the territories. In 1975 the Legislative Assembly became fully elected, and the first elected speaker since 1905, David Searle, presided over the Assembly. Commissioner John Parker gave up his powers of running the executive council and appointed George Braden as leader of the Government and the first Premier since 1905. The model of responsible government that was used this time around was known as Consensus government. The executive council or cabinet forms government while all the regular