territory of northwestern Canada comprising that area of the mainland north of 60° north latitude between Yukon (territory) to the west and Nunavut to the east and bordering the Arctic Ocean; capital Yellowknife area 441,619 square miles (1,143,793 square kilometers), population 41,462
Note: Prior to the 1999 establishment of Nunavut, the area of the Northwest Territories was more than two and a half times its present-day size.