Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (now Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) submitted an Inuit land-claim proposal titled "Nunavut" to the federal government, helping launch the modern political project that tied Inuit land rights to the idea of a new territory.
The Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) was incorporated and recognized as the Inuit organization mandated to negotiate a Nunavut land-claim settlement—an institutional turning point that professionalized negotiations and focused them on creating Nunavut.
A territory-wide plebiscite asked whether the Northwest Territories should be divided; a majority voted Yes, establishing an early democratic mandate that would later be revisited as negotiations and boundary proposals evolved.
Voters in the Northwest Territories approved the proposed Nunavut boundary line, providing key political authorization for drafting the legislation that would divide the territory.
TFN and federal negotiators reached agreement on the substantive provisions that became the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, clearing the way for formal ratification steps and federal legislation.
A referendum held November 3–5, 1992 in the area proposed as Nunavut approved the creation of the new territory, giving a direct popular mandate for finalizing the land claim and the political division.
The Nunavut Implementation Commission (NIC) operated during the transition to advise the founders (Canada, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, and the territorial government) on designing institutions and ensuring a smooth inauguration of the new public government.
Representatives of TFN, the Government of Canada, and the Government of the Northwest Territories signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the largest comprehensive Indigenous land claim settlement in Canadian history and the foundation for creating Nunavut.
Canada’s Parliament passed implementing legislation that (1) gave legal effect to the land-claims settlement and (2) created the new territory of Nunavut, setting a delayed coming-into-force date to allow a transition period.
The Nunavut Act and the land-claims implementing legislation received Royal Assent, formally enacting the legal framework for Nunavut’s establishment and Inuit rights under the settlement.
Parliament adopted amendments to the Nunavut Act ahead of Nunavut’s launch, updating constitutional and implementation details needed for the new territory’s start on April 1, 1999.
Nunavut held its first general election to choose the 19 members of the Legislative Assembly in advance of the territory’s official creation; Nunavut’s legislature would operate by consensus government (without political parties).
Helen Maksagak assumed office as Nunavut’s first Commissioner immediately before the territory’s creation, providing continuity in the transition from the Government of the Northwest Territories to Nunavut’s new public government.
Nunavut came into being as Canada’s newest territory, legally separated from the Northwest Territories. This culmination of land-claims settlement and legislative action created a new public government in a majority-Inuit jurisdiction.
Creation of Nunavut and Inuit Self-Government (1970–1999)
