Commissioners of the Northwest Territories

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Flag of the Office:
Coat of Arms of the Office:
Incumbent:	George Tuccaro
First commissioner:	Frederick D. White
Formation:	August 24, 1905

The Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is the Canadian federal government’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 Canadian federal government it is a misnomer to consider the office the Monarch's viceregal 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 Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

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	present	George Tuccaro

Living former Commissioners

• John Havelock Parker
• Daniel Joseph Marion
• Glenna Hansen
• Tony Whitford

Deputy Commissioners

Margaret Thom 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)

External links

• Office of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories (NWT)
• Official Handbook for Commissioners of the Territories (Canada)