Everything about Legislative Assembly Of The Northwest Territories totally explained
The
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories or
Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories,
Canada, is located in
Yellowknife. The Assembly is a unicameral elected body that creates and amends law in the Northwest Territories. The Assembly was founded in 1870 and became active in 1872 with the first appointments from the Government of Canada.
Under the
Northwest Territories Act the Assembly is officially defined under federal law as Legislative Council. However under Northwest Territories territorial law, it's defined as Legislative Assembly. Under different periods of its history it has alternated names.
Early history
The Legislative Assembly was first known as the
Temporary North-West Council and was created in 1870. The first appointments to the council were made on
December 28,
1872. The Temporary Council was dissolved in 1876 and a new permanent council was appointed and moved to the new capital of
Fort Livingstone in 1876. The council moved to
Battleford a year later based on the planned location of the
Canadian Pacific Railway.
The very first election to the Assembly would take place on
March 23,
1881 as
Lawrence Clarke was elected to represent the electoral district of
Lorne. In 1883 the Assembly moved south to
Regina based on amendments to the route of the railway. The first territory-wide election took place on
September 15,
1885 known as the
1885 Northwest Territories election.
Three years later the
first general election took place. All the voting members of the Assembly were elected for the first time, and an elected speaker took office. The Lieutenant Governor still had executive authority however and appointed and ran the cabinet. After the
second general election in 1891 the first fully elected Assembly without any appointed members. The Assembly achieved
Responsible Government for the first time in October of 1897 as the Lieutenant Governor appointed
Frederick Haultain as the first Premier to form a government.
Robert Brett became the first Leader of the official opposition and party lines were roughly drawn based on Conservatives and Liberals.
The Haultain government lobbied for
Government of Canada for provincial powers for the Northwest Territories. In response on
September 1,
1905 the provinces of
Alberta and
Saskatchewan were created by Prime Minister
Wilfred Laurier out of the southern populated portion of the territories.
Court of Law
The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories served as the first court of law in the
Northwest Territories from 1876 until the creation of the
Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 1887. Appointed members of the council served as Stipendiary Magistrates would travel the territories and oversee legal cases when the Legislature wasn't sitting. In 1887 the Northwest Territories moved to a new system that assigned Judges to judicial districts and separated the legal and judicial branches.
Ottawa
After the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan the rest of the Northwest Territories was sparsely populated by enfranchised voters. The territories reverted back to it's confederation entry status. A new council was setup in Ottawa consisting of four appointed seats and under the authority of a
Commissioner. The Commissioner was the effective replacement of the Lieutenant Governor.
Frederick White was appointed as the first Commissioner and didn't recall the council to sit during his time in office. The first session of the
2nd Council of the Northwest Territories took place in 1921. The council members were bureaucrats appointed from the Interior Ministry and were not resident citizens of the territory. In 1947 The first Northwest Territories resident since 1905 was appointed to the council.
John G. McNiven was appointed to represent
Yellowknife. McNiven was also the first member appointed to the council from north of the 60th parallel.
In 1951 the council held its first general election in 49 years. The
fifth general election elected three members from the
District of Mackenzie. The old council was completely dissolved and five members were appointed along with the three elected representatives.
The council gained more powers back from the federal government as the population in the territory grew. In 1967 the
Carrothers Commission moved the territorial capital from Ottawa to
Yellowknife and for the first time elected members represented all parts of the territories. In 1975 the Legislative Assembly became fully elected, and the first elected speaker
David Searle, since 1905 presided over the Assembly.
Consensus government
Commissioner
John Parker gave up his powers of running the executive council and appointed
George Braden as leader of the Government and the first Premier since 1905. The model of responsible government that was used this time around was known as Consensus government. The executive council or cabinet forms government while all the regular members form an unofficial opposition.
The modern Consensus Government model is inherently non-partisan and serves effectively as a constant minority government. The Legislature uses this model up to the current day.
Assembly buildings
The building that has housed the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly has changed many times since it was founded. The first building was the original Manitoba Legislature in
Fort Garry. After the council moved to Fort Livingstone it was housed in the Swan River Barracks used by the
North-West Mounted Police.
The first building built for the needs of the Assembly was NWT Government House in Battleford. That building also served as a residence for the Lieutenant Governor. In 1883 the Assembly moved to Regina. The Territorial Administration building was built to accommodate the growing Assembly and used until 1905.
After the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the capital was moved to Ottawa and the council sessions took place in an office building on
Sparks Street. When the council sessions returned to the territories, they were held in any infrastructure suitable as they traveled from community to community.
After the capital was moved to Yellowknife in 1967 a temporary site for the Legislative Assembly was used until the new Legislature building was finished in 1993.
Current Assembly
The current Legislative Assembly is the
16th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. The NWT has set in place legislation that ensures elections are held every four years on the first Monday in October and the next election will be held
3 October,
2011.
Despite attempts by political parties to run candidates for the legislature, the legislature is
nonpartisan and has been since 1905.
Current members
Further Information
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