The Yukon is in Canada's extreme
northwest.
Of Canada's 13 provinces and territories,
the Yukon is the only one which
is not further subdivided into census
divisions such as counties —
instead, the whole territory constitutes
a single census division.
Prehistory
Disputed evidence of the oldest
remains of human inhabitation in
North America have been found in
the Yukon. A large number of apparently
human-modified animal bones were
discovered in the Old Crow area
in the northern Yukon that have
been dated to 25,000–40,000
years ago by carbon dating. The
central and northern Yukon were
not glaciated, as they were part
of Beringia.
At about 800 AD, a large volcanic
eruption in Mount Churchill near
the Alaska border blanketed the
southern Yukon with ash. That layer
of ash can still be seen along the
Klondike Highway. Yukon First Nations
stories speak of all the animals
and fish dying as a result. Similar
stories are told among the Athabaskan-speaking
Navajo and Apache, leading to the
conclusion by some anthropologists
that the migration of Athabaskan
peoples into what is now the southwestern
United States could have been due
to the eruption. After that, the
hunting technology saw the replacement
of Atlatls with bows and arrows.
Extensive trading networks between
the coastal Tlingits and the interior
First Nations developed, where the
coastal peoples would trade eulachon
oil and other coastal goods for
native copper and furs found in
the interior.
Klondike
Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush was a seminal
event in the Yukon's history. A
party led by Skookum Jim Mason discovered
gold on a tributary of the Klondike
River in August 1896. An estimated
30,000 to 40,000 people braved numerous
hardships to reach the Klondike
gold fields in the winter and spring
of 1897-1898 after the discovery
became known in 1897. With the influx
of American stampeders, the Canadian
government decided to create a separate
territory to better control the
situation.
In 1901, after many had gone back,
the Census put the population of
the territory at 27,219, a figure
that was not reached again until
1991. The influx of people greatly
stimulated mineral exploration in
other parts of the Yukon and led
to two subsidiary gold rushes in
Atlin, British Columbia and Nome,
Alaska as well as a number of mini-rushes.
Transportation needs to the gold
fields led to the construction of
the White Pass and Yukon Railway.
Economy
The territory's historical major
industry is mining, including lead,
zinc, silver, gold, asbestos and
copper. Indeed, the territory owes
its existence to the famous Klondike
Gold Rush of the 1890s. Having acquired
the land from the Hudson's Bay Company
in 1870, the Canadian government
divided the territory off of the
Northwest Territories in 1898 to
fill the need for local government
created by the influx of prospectors
during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Thousands of these prospectors,
led by the chance at gold, flooded
the area, creating a colourful period
recorded by authors such as Robert
W. Service and Jack London. (See
also Royal Canadian Mounted Police.)
The memory of this period, as well
as the territory's scenic wonders
and outdoor recreation opportunities,
makes tourism the second most important
industry.
Manufacturing, including furniture,
clothing, and handicrafts, follows
in importance, along with hydroelectricity.
The traditional industries of trapping
and fishing have declined.
Today, the government sector is
by far the biggest employer in the
territory, directly employing approximately
5,000 out of a labour force of 12,500.
Government
and Politics
In the nineteenth century, the
Yukon was a segment of the Hudson
Bay Company-administered North-Western
Territory and then the Canadian-administered
Northwest Territories. It only obtained
a recognizable local government
in 1895 when it became a separate
district of the Northwest Territories.
In 1898, it was made a separate
Territory with its own Commissioner
and appointed Territorial Council.
Prior to 1979, the territory was
administered by the Commissioner
who is appointed by the federal
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development. The Commissioner used
to chair and had a role in appointing
the territory's Executive Council
and had a day to day role in governing
the territory. The elected Territorial
Council had a purely advisory role.
In 1979, a significant degree of
power was devolved from the federal
government and Commissioner to the
territorial legislature which, in
that year, adopted a party system
of responsible government.
The Yukon Act, passed on April
1, 2003, formalized the powers of
the Yukon government and devolved
a number of additional powers to
the territorial government As of
2003 the Yukon government has much
of the same powers as provincial
governments, and the other two territories
are looking to obtaining the same
powers.
Although there has been discussion
about the Yukon becoming Canada's
11th province, it is generally felt
that its population base is too
sparse for this to occur. As well,
the government of British Columbia
did propose to take over the territory
on a number of occasions.
At the federal level, the territory
is presently represented in the
Parliament of Canada by a single
Member of Parliament and one senator.
In contrast to United States territories,
Canadian territories' members of
Parliament are full and equal voting
representatives and residents of
the territory enjoy the same rights
as other Canadian citizens.
