# Did Canada Get a New Province? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663 "2006-05-21T19:48:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/1 "2006-05-21T19:48:53Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/2 "2006-05-21T19:50:46Z")
Jesus H. Christ on a cracker with cream cheese on top. [Nunavut](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavut). Was that so hard? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/3 "2006-05-21T19:57:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/4 "2006-05-21T21:08:35Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > 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 Territor **ies** 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. 1. 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_? 2. Following the creation of Nunavut, was there some change in the NWT political structure to address its shrunken area? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/5 "2006-05-21T21:22:20Z")
“Originally”? Not so much. Let’s see. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-Western\_Territory](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](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. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/6 "2006-05-21T21:32:00Z")
Oh yeah: > [@](#): > > The vastness of Canada’s Northwest Territories meant that for much of its history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration. These territorial divisions were abolished during the territory’s most recent contraction in 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/7 "2006-05-21T21:37:39Z")
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie [explain it succinctly](http://media.putfile.com/Three-Dead-Trolls-In-A-Baggie---Nunavit). (.mp3 link) (Mods, this .mp3 was released to the public by TDTIAB to promote their stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/8 "2006-05-21T21:46:58Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/9 "2006-05-21T21:48:19Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/10 "2006-05-21T21:53:48Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > …the pronunciation is “None of it”, right? It’s more of a “Noon-a-voot”. “None of it” is more just a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/11 "2006-05-21T22:05:23Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I think they should rename what’s left of the Northwest Territories to Restuvit. 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](http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=04d8c015-ba7e-4836-b622-c2beb394284d). “Restuvit” would therefore be somewhat confusing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RCGDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@RCGDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCGDC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/12 "2006-05-22T01:13:50Z")
A new territory. I’m still trying to cope with the fact they changed the name of Newfoundland to “Newfoundland And Labrador.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/13 "2006-05-22T01:23:55Z")
> [@RCGDC](#): > > 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??? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/14 "2006-05-22T01:40:02Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > You mean they let Newfoundland and Labrador into Canada too??? 😉 Regrettably, efforts to tow them further out into the Atlantic were unsuccessful. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/15 "2006-05-22T01:55:59Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I think they should rename what’s left of the Northwest Territories to Restuvit. As a matter of fact, there was a movement afoot to rename the NWT to “Bob” when Nunavut came into being. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/16 "2006-05-22T01:57:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Regrettably, efforts to tow them further out into the Atlantic were unsuccessful. For shame! I just spent the day with a first generation Canadian - her parents were born in Newfoundland pre-joining. Newfies are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/17 "2006-05-22T02:09:42Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > As a matter of fact, there was a movement afoot to rename the NWT to “Bob” when Nunavut came into being. I guess it failed to walk the line. > [@RCGDC](#): > > A new territory. I’m still trying to cope with the fact they changed the name of Newfoundland to “Newfoundland And Labrador.” They wanted to chase that elusive kennel club demographic. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/18 "2006-05-22T02:42:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Regrettably, efforts to tow them further out into the Atlantic were unsuccessful. They were retrieved? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/19 "2006-05-22T02:58:22Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Regrettably, efforts to tow them further out into the Atlantic were unsuccessful. \*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. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663/20 "2006-05-22T03:03:31Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > 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. I mean, come on, it’s like me coming into GQ and going, “What’s this Iowa I’ve heard so much about lately?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-get-a-new-province/357663.md?page=2)