There are three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty, and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government.

They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay and all islands north of the Canadian mainland (from those in James Bay to the Queen Elizabeth Islands). The following table lists the territories in order of precedence (each province has precedence over all the territories, regardless of the date each territory was created).

Another territory, the District of Keewatin existed from October 7, 1876, until September 1, 1905, when it rejoined the Northwest Territories and became the Keewatin Region.

It was east of the North-West Territories, occupying the area that is now the Kenora District of Ontario, northern Manitoba, and the eastern half of Nunavut. Government of Keewatin was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The territory did not have any representation in federal parliament.

The Northwest Territories extends for more than 1,300,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi) and has a large climate variant from south to north. The southern part of the territory (most of the mainland portion) has a subarctic climate, while the islands and northern coast have a polar climate.

CLIMATE

Summers in the north are short and cool, featuring daytime highs of 14–17 degrees Celsius (57–63 °F) and lows of 1–5 degrees Celsius (34–41 °F). Winters are long and harsh, with daytime highs −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) and lows −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F). The coldest nights typically reach −40 to −45 °C (−40 to −49 °F) each year.

Extremes are common with summer highs in the south reaching 36 °C (97 °F) and lows reaching below 0 °C (32 °F). In winter in the south, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −40 °C (−40 °F), but they can also reach the low teens during the day. In the north, temperatures can reach highs of 30 °C (86 °F), and lows into the low negatives. In winter in the north, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to reach −50 °C (−58 °F) but they can also reach single digits during the day.

Thunderstorms are not rare in the south. In the north they are very rare but do occur. Tornadoes are extremely rare but have happened with the most notable one happening just outside Yellowknife that destroyed a communications tower. The Territory has a dry climate due to the mountains in the west.

About half of the territory is above the tree line. There are not many trees in most of the eastern areas of the territory, or in the north islands.