NWT Population: 42,000. Nearly half the population lives in the capital Yellowknife.

NWT Size: 519,732 square miles (1,346,106 sq. km.). 50,000 sq. mi. smaller than Alaska. Third largest of Canada’s 13 regions, after Nunavut and Quebec.

NWT Economy: Diamond capital of North America. NWT also has oil and gas resources and other mineral deposits. Diamond discoveries and talk of offshore oil and gas developments and building pipelines have recently overshadowed the view of the NWT as an adventure tourism destination.

Alaska – NWT Connections

• Air North connects Alaska and Inuvik, NWT, via Whitehorse, Y.T. First Air flies from Whitehorse to Fort Simpson and Yellowknife. Canadian North, based in Yellowknife, and other regional carriers serve NWT and neighboring provinces.

• Primary road access is via Alberta and British Columbia. Yukon’s Demptser Highway goes to Inuvik in northern NWT. The Demptser connects to the Alaska Highway directly and via the Taylor/Top of the World Highways.
• Cargo has been barged up the MacKenzie River and west across the Beaufort Sea to the Alaska North Slope.

Government / Politics

• Alaska government leaders have met with Premier Stephen Kakfwi and NWT Cabinet members in Alaska and in Canada to discuss natural gas development project and other issues.
• NWT government and business leaders have made many trips to Alaska and delegations have traveled throughout Alaska.

Natural Gas Projects

• Proposed natural gas projects have been at the center of discussions involving Alaska, NWT and neighboring Canadian provinces. NWT supports a Beaufort Sea pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope gas fields to NWT’s MacKenzie Delta gas fields as a way of tapping both Alaska and Canadian gas with a single pipeline system. Under that scenario, Alaska gas would be piped to NWT and a pipeline would deliver the U.S. and Canadian gas south to Alberta. Alaska supports an Alaska Highway gas pipeline route as a way of bringing gas to domestic users in Alaska before branching off to Canada and the Lower 48 States. Although the two projects are seen as competing, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region recently endorsed both projects, saying there was a need for Alaska and NWT natural gas and that both projects were viable and were not mutually exclusive.

Economy / Business / Trade / Tourism

• NWT opened its first diamond mine in 1998 in what promises to be a significant entry into world diamond markets. NWT also mines gold and silver.
• NWT produces oil and natural gas, and its MacKenzie Delta gas reserves are being eyed for new production and pipelines.
• NWT Housing Corporation has pioneered an arctic housing industry for the Far North and has sent the stick-built housing packages throughout the region, including to Alaska. NWT housing deals have been landed with the North Slope Borough and other communities. The NWT Housing Corp. has worked with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency in Alaska, the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. and Alaska regional governments and Native corporations.
• NWT housing packages barged to the Alaska North Slope present an opportunity for back-haul trade that has yet to be realized.
• Tourism is a major part of the NWT economy. However, NWT is not part of the joint Alaska-Western Canada tourism marketing campaign that attracts travelers up the Alaska Highway and up the Inside Passage.

More Information

NWT Government

ttp://www.gov.nt.ca

NWT Business / Economy

http://pingo.gov.nt.ca/agendas/business/index.html

NWT economic strategy: http://www.infonorth.org/strategy

Northwest Territories Development Corp.: http://www.ntdevcorp.com

NWT Minerals, metals, oil & gas: http://216.126.109/rwed_blue/mog/mins&mets.htm

NWT diamond industry: http://www.gov.nt.ca/RWED/diamond/index.htm

NWT community economic development: http://www.gov.nt.ca/RWED/ced/index.htm

NWT Housing Corp.: http://www.nwthc.gov.nt.ca

Travel

http://www.nwttravel..nt.ca

http://www.northernfrontier.com