Northwest Territories

Imperial Oil Ltd. will end production at its Norman Wells facility in the Northwest Territories in summer 2026.

Gwich’in, Mackenzie Valley, Sahtu, and Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Boards – collectively, the LWBs have released a set of guidelines to raise awareness about the existence of water laws and the claims compensation process in the N.W.T. Despite the N.W.T. 's long history of mining, there have been few applications and leaders at the organization say a lack of awareness of the laws and lack of accessibility to the legal language of the water acts is part of the reason why.

“The sessions will provide an update on the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project, including an update on the environmental assessment process and timelines for regulatory milestones. Updates will also include planned engagement on multiple topics beginning in 2026 and ongoing through construction of the Project. Topics will include development of the Community Readiness Strategy, Corridor Working Group and Sub-Working Groups, and management plans for the Project,” said Lapointe.

NorthWords NWT has opened submissions for their 2026 Book Awards. The awards are a celebration of outstanding book authors with strong connections to the NWT. 

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation says remediation work on the surge tank at the Taltson Hydro site is advancing but may take longer than planned.

“I think all Canadians are probably concerned about it to a degree,” says Northwest Territories Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Premier Caroline Wawzonek, who adds that while any formal response to recent threats from the U.S. to annex Canada will come from the feds, it's an important time for everyone across the North to “assert sovereignty.” By “positioning the North to be economically strong” this will also benefit the rest of the country, said Minister Wawzonek.

The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer issued an announcement today that Health Orders placed at École William McDonald Middle School and N.J. Macpherson School last year have been lifted. Officials reported that the lead levels at the schools no longer exceed Health Canada guidelines.

The renaming may be a reflection of a changing landscape in the city. With more development coming North, Indigenous leaders and allies are taking part in a growing dialogue of honouring and acknowledging living histories that go trace back to time immemorial. The issue of renaming has become a hot topic for Yellowknifers from streets on the city’s landscape like Franklin Ave to waterbodies like the Great Slave Lake.

The Missing Persons Act, a new piece of legislation that aims to assist police in investigating missing persons in the Northwest Territories, has come into force.