History of Northwest Territories capital cities The new legislature was the first building built specifically for the Northwest Territories government since the government sat in Regina 88 years earlier. The legislature building was constructed to feature themes derived from the Inuit culture, which signaled that the government was sensitive to the ethnicity of the resident population. The modern day territorial government has matured in Yellowknife to become effective and responsible. The government in Yellowknife had largely gained back its powers on par with the pre-1905 government that was dissolved during creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The civil service has been effectively consolidated into the city of
Yellowknife limited to the Kam Lake and airport subdivisions. Jolliffe Island sits in Yellowknife Bay and is public land under the jurisdiction of the City of Yellowknife after a land purchase when Imperial Oil vacated the site. The island is surrounded by a community of houseboats who have been living off the grid since 1978. Their relationship with the city is complex and often strained as the houseboats are popular with sightseers, but at the same time they live outside of the city's tax jurisdiction while using city services leading to lawsuits and tensions with the City of Yellowknife. Yellowknife has