Editing Northern Canada (section)

====Far north====

[[File:Nunavut tundra -c.jpg|thumb|left|A typical [[tundra]] landscape in [[Nunavut]].]]

The "far north" is synonymous with the areas north of the [[tree line]]: the [[Barren Grounds]] and [[tundra]]. This area is home to the various sub-groups of the [[Inuit]], a people unrelated to other [[Indigenous peoples in Canada]]. These are people who have traditionally relied mostly on hunting [[marine mammal]]s and [[Reindeer|caribou]], mainly [[barren-ground caribou]], as well as fish and migratory birds. The Inuit lived in groups that pursued a [[hunter-gatherer]] lifestyle, with a basic governmental system in which power was exercised by the local headman, a person acknowledged to be the best hunter,<ref>[https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3012&context=jclc Law-Ways of the Primitive Eskimos], page 667</ref> and the [[angakkuq]], sometimes called shamans.<ref>Matthiasson, John S. ''Living on the Land Change Among the Inuit of Baffin Island'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press p.118-119</ref> This area was somewhat involved in the [[fur trade]], but was more influenced by the [[history of whaling|whaling industry]].<ref name="Matthiasson27">Matthiasson, John S. ''Living on the Land Change Among the Inuit of Baffin Island'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press p.27</ref> Britain maintained a claim to the far north as part of the [[British Arctic Territories]], and in 1880 transferred its claim to Canada, who incorporated the far north into the Northwest Territories.<ref name="Matthiasson27"/>

The Inuit were not aware of the existence of the British Arctic territory claim nor were they aware for some time afterwards that under international law their territories had just been included in Canada.<ref>Matthiasson, John S. ''Living on the Land Change Among the Inuit of Baffin Island'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press p.27-28</ref> It was not until 1920, when detachments of the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP) started being sent into the far north to enforce Canadian law, that Canadian sovereignty over the region became effective.<ref>Matthiasson, John S. ''Living on the Land Change Among the Inuit of Baffin Island'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press p.41-42</ref> This area was not part of the early 20th century treaty process, and [[aboriginal title]] to the land has been acknowledged by the Canadian government with the creation of [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomous territories]] instead of the [[Indian reserve]]s of further south.

In [[1982 Northwest Territories division plebiscite|1982 a referendum]] was held to decide on splitting the Northwest Territories. This was followed by the [[1992 Nunavut creation referendum]], with the majority of the people in the far north voting to leave the Northwest Territories, leading to creation of the new territory of Nunavut in 1999. Very few non-Indigenous  people have settled in these areas, and the residents of the far north represent less than 1% of Canada's total population.

The far north is also often broken into western and eastern parts and sometimes a central part. The eastern Arctic includes the self-governing territory of Nunavut (much of which is in the true Arctic, being north of the [[Arctic Circle]]), sometimes excluding [[Cambridge Bay]] and [[Kugluktuk]]; [[Nunavik]], an autonomous part of the province of Quebec; [[Nunatsiavut]], an autonomous part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and perhaps a few parts of the [[Hudson Bay]] coast of Ontario and Manitoba. The western Arctic is the northernmost portion of the Northwest Territories (roughly [[Inuvik Region]]) and a small part of Yukon, together called the [[Inuvialuit Settlement Region]], and sometimes includes Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. The central Arctic covers the pre-division [[Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories]].
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! class="unsortable" style="line-height:95%; width:2em" |Flag
! class="unsortable" style="line-height:95%; width:2em" |Arms
!Territory
!Capital
!Area
!Population ([[2021 Canadian census|2021]])<ref name="census2016">{{cite web|title=Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2021 Census – Canada, provinces and territories|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101|work=[[Canada 2021 Census|2021 Census]]| date=9 February 2022 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref>
!Population density
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Northwest Territories|size=100px}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Coat of arms of Northwest Territories.svg|50px]]
|[[Northwest Territories]]
|[[Yellowknife]]
| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|1,346,106|km2|abbr=on}}
| style="text-align:right;" |41,070
| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|0.031|/km2|abbr=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Yukon|size=100px}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Coat of arms of Yukon.svg|50px]]
|[[Yukon]]
|[[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]]
| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|482,443|km2|abbr=on}}
| style="text-align:right;" |40,232

| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|0.083|/km2|abbr=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |{{flagicon|Nunavut|size=100px}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Coat of arms of Nunavut.svg|50px]]

|[[Nunavut]]

|[[Iqaluit]]
| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|2,038,722|km2|abbr=on}}
| style="text-align:right;" |36,858

| style="text-align:right;" |{{convert|0.018|/km2|abbr=on}}

|}