Districts of The Northwest Territories - North-West Territories Pre-'districts'

North-West Territories Pre-'districts'

The North-West Territories were administered as a single entity, with no districts, from 1870 to 1882.

In 1870 Canada gained control of the Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company. That same year, a small piece of Rupert's Land was formed into the province of Manitoba, but the rest of the area was merged and renamed the North-West Territories. This region included the vast bulk of Canada's present day landmass and covered an area about the size of western Europe.

In 1876 the North-West Territories contracted in size when a large area of 590,932 km2 (228,160 sq mi), between Manitoba and Ontario and along the entire west coast of Hudson Bay, was established by Canada as a territory named the District of Keewatin. This autonomous territory is not to be confused with the 'districts' which would later be created within the North-West Territories.

In 1880 the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was ceded to Canada by the United Kingdom and this land was added to the North-West Territories.