Commissioners of the Northwest Territories
Commissioner of the Northwest Territories | |
---|---|
Badge of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories | |
Flag of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories | |
Incumbent Gerald W. Kisoun (deputy commissioner) since 2016 | |
Style | Honourable |
Appointer | Governor-in-Council |
Formation | August 24, 1905 |
First holder | Frederick D. White |
Website | website |
The Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is the Government of Canada’s representative in Northwest Territories (NWT) and the territory's chief executive officer. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembly, swears in members of the executive council, assents to bills, opens sessions of the legislative assembly, and signs other government documents such as Orders in Council.
Earlier commissioners were mostly deputy ministers in various ministries (Minister of the Interior, Mines, Mines and Resources).
As commissioners are appointed by the Government of Canada, it is a misnomer to consider the office the monarch's vice-regal representative in the territory—that is, unlike in Canada's provinces, there is no such thing as a "territorial Crown" analogous to the provincial Crowns. The commissioner must follow any instructions of the Cabinet or the relevant federal minister, currently the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
Since 1980, the territories have had self-government, with the legislature choosing a government leader or premier, in addition to electing members of parliament to the Parliament of Canada.
Commissioners of the NWT
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
24 August 1905 | 27 June 1919 | Frederick D. White |
27 June 1919 | 17 February 1931 | William Wallace Cory |
31 March 1931 | 30 April 1934 | Hugh H. Rowatt |
1 May 1934 | 2 December 1936 | vacant (Roy A. Gibson acting) |
3 December 1936 | 3 December 1946 | Charles Camsell |
14 January 1947 | 24 September 1950 | Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside |
14 November 1950 | 15 November 1953 | Hugh Andrew Young |
15 November 1953 | 12 July 1963 | Robert Gordon Robertson |
12 July 1963 | 16 January 1967 | Bent Gestur Sivertz |
2 March 1967 | 6 April 1979 | Stuart Milton Hodgson |
15 April 1979 | 31 July 1989 | John Havelock Parker |
2 October 1989 | 30 September 1994 | Daniel L. Norris |
16 January 1995 | 26 March 1999 | Helen Maksagak |
26 March 1999 | 31 March 2000 | Daniel Joseph Marion |
31 March 2000 | 7 April 2005 | Glenna Hansen |
29 April 2005 | 28 April 2010 | Tony Whitford |
28 May 2010 | 10 May 2016[1] | George Tuccaro |
Living former Commissioners
Deputy Commissioners
Gerald W. Kisoun[2] is the current Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. For former Deputy Commissioners see List of Northwest Territories deputy commissioners.
See also
- Lieutenant-Governors of Northwest Territories (1869-1905)
References
External links
- Office of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories (NWT)
- Official Handbook for Commissioners of the Territories (Canada)