List of regions of the Northwest Territories

Administrative regions of the Northwest Territories
Inuvik, Inuvik Norman Wells, Sahtu Fort Simpson, Dehcho Yellowknife, North Slave Fort Smith South Slave Administrative regions of the Northwest Territories with regional offices
Category	Territory
Location	Northwest Territories
Number	5
Populations	2,073 (Dehcho Region) — 23,144 (North Slave Region)
Government	Administrative region
Subdivisions	Municipalities

The Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories is subdivided into administrative regions in different ways for different purposes.

Administrative regions of the Government of the Northwest Territories[]

The territory's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs divides the territory into five regions. Other services have adopted similar divisions for administrative purposes, making these the de facto regions of the territory. These divisions have no government of their own, but the Northwest Territories' government services are decentralized on a regional basis.

Some government departments make slight changes to this arrangement. For example, the Health and Social Services Authority groups Fort Resolution with the North Slave Region, and divides South Slave Region into two regions: Hay River and Fort Smith. The Department of Natural Resources uses the same borders, but calls the Inuvik Region "Beaufort Delta".

Region	Regional offices(s)[1]	Population (2016)	Map
Dehcho Region	Fort Simpson	2,073
Inuvik Region	Inuvik	6,372
North Slave Region	Yellowknife Behchokǫ̀ (sub-office)	23,144
Sahtu Region	Norman Wells	2,554
South Slave Region	Fort Smith Hay River (sub-office)	7,764

Land rights[]

Land and self-government treaties with First Nations, Inuvialuit (Inuit), and Métis groups give their governments a significant amount of authority to manage land use within agreed-upon areas. These areas are each much larger than the area fully owned by the indigenous government. Within each of these areas, the indigenous nation has jurisdiction over several areas of law, and land use is effectively co-governed by the territorial government and indigenous government.

A treaty also exists with the Salt River First Nation, but it establishes reserves rather than a joint land use area.

Region	Indigenous government	Treaty	Notes	Map
Acho Dene Koe Territory	Acho Dene Koe First Nation	none	Land claimed by the Acho Dene Koe Nation includes land in the NWT, Yukon, and British Columbia. The NWT portion is in the southwest of the province, surrounding the hamlet of Fort Liard. An agreement-in-principle regarding the lands was signed 5 February 2014.
Akaitcho Territory	Akaitcho Territory Government and North Slave Métis Alliance	none	The Akaitcho Territory roughly corresponds to the area of North Slave Region east of Wekʼèezhìı, possibly extending south into South Slave Region. Land claims for the Akaitcho Territory are still not settled, but are in negotiation with both governments as of 2021. The southern part of the region is in Treaty 8 territory, and the northern part is known as Chief Drygeese Territories, the nations of which work with Treaty 8 nations even though they are not in Treaty 8. An agreement exists between the Akaitcho and Tłı̨chǫ Governments to ensure that jurisdiction of the two nations will not overlap.
Dehcho Region	Dehcho First Nations	none	Land claims for the Dehcho Regions are still not settled, but are in negotiation as of 2021. The existing treaty for the region is Treaty 11. Lands claimed approximate the Dehcho Region, although the Kaʼaʼgee Tu Band claims land farther east. The claim overlaps the Acho Dene Koe Territory in the southwest and overlaps with Katlʼodeeche Gotʼi Ndee in the east.
Gwichʼin Settlement Area	Gwichʼin Tribal Council	Gwichʼin Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement	Borders the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and the communities of Aklavik and Inuvik fall under both land claims[2][3][4][5][6]
Inuvialuit Settlement Region	[7]	Inuvialuit Final Agreement	Area covered by the agreement extends into Yukon. It borders the and the communities of Aklavik and Inuvik fall under both land claims[2][3][4][5][6]
Katlʼodeeche Gotʼi Ndee	Kʼatlodeeche First Nation	none	South of Great Slave Lake. Its western boundary is approximately 50 km west of Highway 1, and its eastern boundary is approximately halfway through Wood Buffalo National Park. Its claimed land slightly overlaps in the west with claims by the Kaʼaʼgee Tu Band of the Dehcho First Nations. Half of its population lives in Hay River Reserve.
South Slave Metis Region	NWT Metis Nation	none	Located in the South Slave Region, with current Metis councils based in Hay River, Fort Smith, and Fort Resolution. It claims two cabin sites that overlap with land claims made by Kʼatlodeeche First Nation. A self-government framework agreement was signed on 21 May 2021. Land rights will be negotiated in a later phase of the process.
Sahtu Settlement Region	Sahtu Dene Council	Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement	Has the same borders as the Sahtu region. Subdivided into the Délįnę District, Tulita District, and K’asho Got’ine District. The Délįnę District has its own self-government agreement
Wekʼèezhìı	Tłı̨chǫ Government	Tłįchǫ Land Claims and Self-government Agreement	Comprises the western half of North Slave Region, excluding the city of Yellowknife. Also called Tłįchǫ Region, after the people who live there, but this is distinct from "Tłįchǫ lands", which are the lands within Wekʼèezhìı that are fully owned by the Tłįchǫ Government.

Census divisions[]

Statistics Canada divides the territory into six census divisions. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. They are listed below with their most populous municipality on the right:

• Region 1 – Inuvik
• Region 2 – Norman Wells
• Region 3 – Behchokǫ̀
• Region 4 – Fort Simpson
• Region 5 – Fort Smith
• Region 6 – Yellowknife

Former census divisions[]

Administrative regions prior to 1999

1999-2011[]

Prior to the 2011 census, there were two census divisions. The former census division of Inuvik was considerably larger than the administrative region of the same name.

• Fort Smith Region – Fort Smith
• Inuvik Region – Inuvik

Before 1999[]

Prior to the division of the NWT and the creation of Nunavut in 1999, there were five census divisions. Their boundaries were altered somewhat as part of the adjustment.

• Baffin Region
• Fort Smith Region
• Inuvik Region
• Keewatin Region
• Kitikmeot Region

These regions are not to be confused with the former districts of the Northwest Territories.

References[]

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