Yukon Territory

As you know, we’ve been in Canada now for 15 days, moving slowly northwest with each leg of the trip.  When we crossed the border into Canada we were in the province of Alberta.  Then we stayed in several small towns in the province of British Columbia.  Our last two stops were in Yukon Territory. That started me wondering about the difference between a province and a territory.  I asked several people in our caravan, but they didn’t know.  Then I asked a young man who was working in the Old Log Church Museum in Whitehorse.  He explained the difference to me. 

The Old Log Church was established in 1900.

The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their power and authority from the Constitution Act of 1867. Territories have powers delegated to them by the federal government.  A province has a higher population of residents than a territory.  Residents in a province have a right to vote in governmental elections and pay taxes to the federal government.   A territory consists of a massive amount of land – wilderness, really, that is sparsely populated. Residents in a territory do not vote in federal governmental elections and do not pay federal taxes.  They are mostly governed within their towns.  

Canada is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories. The ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador.  The three territories are Northwest Territory, Nunavat Territory, and Yukon Territory.

One of the towns in the Yukon Territory that we visited was Watson Lake, the home of the Sign Post Forest. There, signs from almost everywhere on earth have been posted by visitors traveling through.  The signs usually reveal the person’s name, town and state, and date of the visit.  This all began when, years ago, a lonesome soldier stationed nearby posted his hometown and the number of miles he was from it. He hung his sign on a post pointing in the direction to his home. See pictures below of a few of the signs that are on display. 

The other town that we visited in Yukon Territory is Whitehorse, which serves as the capital of the Yukon Territory.  There are three beliefs of how Whitehorse got its name.  One is that the town was named after a whiskey that the miners bought in bars during the gold rush.  Another is that the waves coming off the river dam looked like the mane of white horses, and the other is that the town was named for an Indian chief.  Who knows, but the town is a nice place. Whitehorse was also the home of Jack London, author of The Call of the Wild. Travis, do you remember this author?

We celebrated “Canada Day” with the Whitehorse residents and tourists on July 1.  We went to the parade and enjoyed seeing the sights.  I don’t know where all those people came from, but they all came out for the parade.  I was amazed at the number of young families.
We enjoyed a bus tour of the city of Whitehorse, ate dinner at Klondyke Rib and Salmon Restaurant with friends, (I ordered Halibut, but Jason, it wasn’t even close to yours) and did our laundry.
If I had to live in any of the towns we’ve visited since we entered Canada, Whitehorse would be the one.   

Friends from Texas and Montana

Our next stop will be Skagway, Alaska.  Finally, Alaska, here we come! We will celebrate the 4^th of July there!