Territories
Canada’s sparsely populated territories span the vast Far North, from the Alaskan border to the North Atlantic. This is where much of Canada’s Inuit population lives and where you’d find igloos, dogsleds, polar bears, the best views of the Northern Lights and dark, bitterly cold days in the winter months.
Most visitors to Canada won’t ever travel this far north; it’s quite far from everything. But that is their loss. Canada’s North offers incredible unspoiled nature, wonderful people and unique experiences including many extreme winter outdoor recreation opportunities.
Yukon
The Yukon offers over 536,000 square kilometres (207,000 square miles) of dramatic, unspoiled natural beauty. Roaring rivers, glacier-fed lakes and snow-capped mountains dominate its vast landscape. It is home to Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest peak at 5959 metres (19,550 feet). The smallest of the three territories, the Yukon has plenty to reward the traveller brave enough to venture this far north in the winter months.
Popular activities include dogsledding and snowmobile adventures, hunting and fishing excursions and Aurora Borealis viewing. Its two largest cities are the capital, Whitehorse (population approximately 20,000), and the historic Klondike Gold Rush outpost of Dawson City.
Northwest Territories
The land of the Midnight Sun is a vast, awesomely beautiful place. It is home to two of the largest lakes in the world, Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake, the source of the mighty Mackenzie River.
Winter tourism activities in the NWT include dogsledding and snowmobile adventures, hunting and fishing excursions and Aurora Borealis viewing.
The territorial capital and largest city is Yellowknife, located on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake.
Nunavut
A territory since 1999 (it formerly was part of the Northwest Territories), Nunavut, at over 2 million square kilometres (772,000 square miles), is the largest of the three northern territories. It spans three time zones. Nunavut includes one fifth of Canada's total land area, encompassing all of Canada north of 60°N, including most of Canada's Arctic islands (as well as the islands in Hudson and James bays).
Winter tourism activities in Nunavut include dogsledding and snowmobile adventures, hunting and fishing excursions, nature and wildlife watching and Aurora Borealis viewing. Nunavut’s capital and largest town is Iqaluit on Baffin Island at Frobisher Bay.