View source for Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

{{Short description|Canadian officer}}
{{Infobox official post
|post                     = Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
|native_name              = {{small|''Commissaire des Territoires<br>du Nord-Ouest''}}
|flag                     = Flag of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.svg
|flagsize                 = 150px
|flagcaption              = Flag of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
|insignia                 = Badge of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.svg
|insigniasize             = 120px
|insigniacaption          = Badge of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
|image                    = {{center|{{CSS image crop|Image=Gerald W. Kisoun.jpg|bSize=200|cWidth=160|cHeight=200|oTop=0|oLeft=40}}}}
|imagesize                = 
|alt                      = 
|incumbent                = [[Gerald Kisoun]]
|acting                   = no
|incumbentsince           = 14 May 2024
|department               = 
|style                    = Honourable
|member_of                = 
|reports_to               = 
|residence                = 
|seat                     = 
|nominator                = 
|appointer                = [[Governor-in-Council]]
|appointer_qualified      = 
|termlength               = 
|termlength_qualified     = 
|constituting_instrument  = 
|precursor                = 
|formation                = 24 August 1905
|first                    = [[Frederick D. White]]
|last                     = 
|abolished                = 
|succession               = 
|deputy                   = 
|salary                   = 
|website                  = {{url|http://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/}}
}}

The '''commissioner of the Northwest Territories''' ({{langx|fr|Commissaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest}}) is the [[Government of Canada]]'s representative in the [[Northwest Territories]]. Similar in certain functions to a [[Lieutenant governor (Canada)|lieutenant governor]], the commissioner swears in the members of the [[Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories|legislative assembly]], swears in members of the [[Executive Council of the Northwest Territories|executive council]], [[Royal Assent|assent]]s to [[Bill (proposed law)|bills]], opens sessions of the legislative assembly, and signs other government documents such as [[Order in Council|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 Government of Canada, they are not a [[viceroy|vice-regal 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 represents the federal government and must follow any instructions of the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] or the relevant federal minister, currently the [[Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs]].

Since 1980, the territories have had self-government, with the [[legislature]] choosing a government leader or [[Premier of the Northwest Territories|premier]], in addition to electing members of parliament to the [[Parliament of Canada]].

==Commissioners of the NWT==
{{main|List of Northwest Territories commissioners}}
{| class="wikitable"
! From
! To
! Name
|-
| 24 August 1905
| 27 September 1918
| [[Frederick D. White]]
|-
| 27 September 1918
| 31 March 1931
| [[William Wallace Cory]]
|-
| 31 March 1931
| 1 May 1934
| [[Hugh H. Rowatt]]
|-
| 1 May 1934
| 3 December 1936
| vacant ([[Roy A. Gibson]] acting)
|-
| 3 December 1936
| 14 January 1947
| [[Charles Camsell]]
|-
| 14 January 1947
| 14 November 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
| 2 March 1967
| [[Bent Gestur Sivertz]]
|-
| 2 March 1967
| 15 April 1979
| [[Stuart Milton Hodgson]]
|-
| 15 April 1979
| 2 October 1989
| [[John Havelock Parker]]
|-
| 2 October 1989
| 16 January 1995
| [[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 May 2010
| [[Tony Whitford]]
|-
| 28 May 2010
| 10 May 2016<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mmcleod.liberal.ca/news-nouvelles/michael-mcleod-statement-honouring-george-tuccaro/|title = Michael Mcleod}}</ref>
|[[George Tuccaro]]
|-
| 10 May 2016
| 18 September 2017
|vacant ([[Gerald W. Kisoun]] acting)
|-
| 18 September 2017
| 14 May 2024
|[[Margaret M. Thom]]
|-
|14 May 2024
|''Incumbent''
|[[Gerald Kisoun]]
|}

==Deputy commissioners==
{{main|List of Northwest Territories deputy commissioners}}

==See also==
* [[Lieutenant-Governors of Northwest Territories]] (1869-1905)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/ Office of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories (NWT)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040416215955/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ps/nap/comm_e.html Official Handbook for Commissioners of the Territories (Canada)]

{{Politics of Canadian provinces}}
{{Northwest Territories politics}}

[[Category:Lists of Canadian viceroys and governors|Northwest Territories Commissioners]]
[[Category:Commissioners of the Northwest Territories|*]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in the Northwest Territories]]