History of Northwest Territories capital cities of the Lieutenant Governor. Battleford hosted the first official royal visit in western Canada, when the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise Caroline Alberta toured the territories in 1881. The first Northwest Territories legislature building, and residence for the Lieutenant Governor named "NWT Government House", was completed and used by the territorial government until 1883. After the government moved the building stood as a historical site until it was destroyed in a fire in 2003. After consultation with Canadian Pacific Railway officials, Lieutenant Governor Edgar Dewdney made the decision to move the capital to Regina, also in present-day Saskatchewan, in
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