History of the Northwest Territories History of the Northwest Territories The History of the Northwest Territories begins with the population of the region by First Nations peoples, and proceeds through the transformation of it into provinces and territories of the nation of Canada, including the modern administrative unit of the Northwest Territories. When Europeans settlers began to divide the continent, the Northwest Territories included much of the sparsely populated regions of what is now western Canada. Over time, the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were formed out of the territories. In 1898, the Yukon territory became a separate entity and in 1999 Nunavut was
Constitution Act, 1886 populations relative to the provinces and indeed, relative to nearly all federal electoral districts. In 1987, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia noted that "representation for the territories [in the House of Commons] has never been based strictly upon population". The Northwest Territories and Yukon have been represented in the Senate since 1975 and Nunavut has been represented in the Senate since its creation in 1999. The Yukon has been represented in the House of Commons since 1902. The Northwest Territories and the Yukon were represented by the same member of the House of Commons between