History of Northwest Territories capital cities restored by the Saskatchewan Government in 1979, the building remains standing to this day. The territorial government would not have another permanent legislature of its own design until 1993. After 1905, Regina continued to serve as capital for the province of Saskatchewan. In 1905, under the direction of Wilfrid Laurier, the Northwest Territories seat of government was moved to Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. This change was made when Northwest Territories defaulted back to the 1870 constitutional status after Alberta and Saskatchewan were sectioned off from the territory on September 1, 1905. After the populated regions of the territory
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,