Westminster in the Arctic: The Adaptation of British Parliamentarism in the Northwest Territories

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Political Science
• Main Author: White, Graham
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
• Subjects: Sociology and Political Science; Arctic; Northwest Territories
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0008423900022666; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0008423900022666

Abstract Government in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada is structured on the cabinet-parliamentary model and follows most of the principles of British-style “responsible government.” The territorial assembly, however, differs in two fundamental ways from the traditional parliamentary model: it has no political parties, and a majority of its members are natives, whose political culture is far removed from the tenets underlying British parliamentarism. This article examines the interplay of structure and culture in the NWT Legislative Assembly, through an evaluation of the so-called “consensus government” system. Although cabinet is clearly pre-eminent, private members have unusual influence in the NWT. More generally, distinctive Northern adaptations to the British model—unique parliamentary structures and procedures—are central to the workings of the legislature. In its internal operations, the NWT Assembly is found to have successfully adapted important elements of British parliamentarism to Northern circumstances, though its legitimacy within the native population remains problematic.