Northwest Territories

American  

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. a territory of Canada lying N of 60 degrees N and extending E from the Yukon Territory to Nunavut. 519,732 sq. mi. (1,346,106 sq. km) Yellowknife.

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Northwest Territories British  

plural noun

1.  NWT.  a territory of NW Canada including part of Victoria Island and several other islands of the Arctic; comprised over a third of Canada's total area until Nunavut became a separate territory in 1999: rich mineral resources. Pop: 42 810 (2004 est). Area: 2 082 910 sq km (804 003 sq miles)

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Northwest Territories Cultural  

1. Territory in northern Canada made up of several administrative districts, which include all the areas to the north of sixty degrees latitude between Hudson Bay and the Yukon and all the islands in Hudson Bay. Very sparsely populated, these territories make up more than one-third of Canada's total area.

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Discover More

In 1998, Canada carved a homeland for the Inuit people, known as Nunavut (“Our Land”), from the Northwest Territories.

Example Sentences

The first project is a roughly 500-mile all-season gravel road in the Northwest Territories, connecting its capital Yellowknife with Inuvik, Canada’s largest town north of the Arctic Circle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

Mark Carney, who was born in the Northwest Territories and is the first Canadian prime minister from the north, has unveiled a multi-billion dollar defence plan that includes upgrades to existing northern military sites.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Northeastern British Columbia, northwestern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories are suffering from an intense drought, meaning lightning strikes could trigger fires that grow quickly, according the Canadian National Wildland Fire Situation report.

From Seattle Times • May 13, 2024

Using these 'indicator' microbes and their DNA sequences, the team tested the surface soil at an exploration site in the Northwest Territories where kimberlite had previously been confirmed through drilling.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

Hiskey suddenly found himself drafted into the army and shipped to a remote military base in the Northwest Territories of Canada—far from atomic bomb secrets.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin