Some websites listing States and Provinces show “Nunavut”. Google maps show that the Northwest Territories have been divided forming Nunavut. When did this is all happen? Is it an official province, or still a territory of Canada? - Jinx
For the benefit of those who suffer from the tragic condition of aresearchia, the neurological inability to do the most laughably basic of research:
Nunavut is one of Canada’s three territories, along with the Northwest Territories and Yukon. It was split off from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 as a consequence of the settlement of a land claim with the Inuit, who comprise the large majority of Nunavut’s population. It occupies the northeastern third of the Canadian Arctic mainland and most of the Arctic Archipelago. Its capital, Iqaluit, is situated on Baffin Island.
Territories differ from provinces (of which Canada has ten) in that they are created by Act of Parliament rather than enshrined in the Constitution, and have fewer constitutional powers. Accordingly, their heads of state are commissioners representing the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, rather than lieutenant governors representing the Queen, as in the provinces.
However, the territories have their own elected legislatures as the provinces do.
I don’t suffer from acute aresearchia but do have a kindred syndrome – the “I don’t want to spend several hours digging out information knowledgeable Dopers can supply in a heartbeat” complex.
Accordingly, something that my reading and Google-fu were unable to explain: The Northwest Territories were originally called that because they comprised three Districts: Keewatin, the mainland north of Manitoba, together with the Hudson’s Bay Islands; Mackenzie; the mainland between Keewatin and the Yukon; and Franklin, the Arctic Archipelago and Boothia Peninsula. It appears that all of Keewatin, almost all of Franklin, and a bit of Mackenzie were joined to create Nunavut.
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Did those Districts have any significance other than “lines on a map,” useful dividers of a monumental land area? Did they have some sort of separate governments, or other raison d’etre?
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Following the creation of Nunavut, was there some change in the NWT political structure to address its shrunken area?
“Originally”? Not so much. Let’s see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-Western_Territory gives some background on how old the NWT classification is, & how vast it once was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Districts_of_the_Northwest_Territories links to pages on the former districts. Short answer: When Nunavut was carved out of the NWT, the old administrative districts were abolished.
Oh yeah:
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie explain it succinctly. (.mp3 link)
(Mods, this .mp3 was released to the public by TDTIAB to promote their stuff.)
For the longest time, I thought “Nunavut” was a nonsense term making fun of Canada. I mean, the pronunciation is “None of it”, right? How many other Dopers thought the same thing?
I think they should rename what’s left of the Northwest Territories to Restuvit.
It’s more of a “Noon-a-voot”. “None of it” is more just a joke.
Actually, “Rest Of Canada” is already such a useful and frequently-used political/geographic term for us that it’s usually abbreviated to “R.O.C.” in our media, like this.
“Restuvit” would therefore be somewhat confusing. 
A new territory. I’m still trying to cope with the fact they changed the name of Newfoundland to “Newfoundland And Labrador.”
You mean they let Newfoundland and Labrador into Canada too??? 
Regrettably, efforts to tow them further out into the Atlantic were unsuccessful.
As a matter of fact, there was a movement afoot to rename the NWT to “Bob” when Nunavut came into being.
For shame! I just spent the day with a first generation Canadian - her parents were born in Newfoundland pre-joining. Newfies are awesome.
I guess it failed to walk the line.
They wanted to chase that elusive kennel club demographic.
They were retrieved?
*Unlike the massive icebergs that are towed into the Bay of Fundy every summer for the tourists to enjoy.
*True story told and believed to tourists.
I mean, come on, it’s like me coming into GQ and going, “What’s this Iowa I’ve heard so much about lately?”