NWT Quick Facts

From snow covered peaks to sweeping plains, wild herds to elusive birds, boisterous waterfalls to peaceful rivers, our territory's landscape is unparalleled. It offers a unique backdrop for any filmmaker.

Geographical Location
Time Zone
Area
Capital City
Currency
Population
Connection
Climate
Weather
Northern Sun

NWT highlights include:

North of the Arctic Circle, the "Midnight Sun" arrives in May and doesn’t depart until the end of July
Virginia Falls in the Nahanni National Park is almost twice the height of Niagara Falls
Two of the largest freshwater lakes (Great Slave Lake and Great Bear) and river systems (Mackenzie River) in North America are in our backyard
Bison roam free in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada’s largest national park
Covering 370 square miles, the Salt Plains are a salt-encrusted landscape that combine geology, plants and wildlife
A 200 km giant ribbon of energy, the Auroral Oval, dances across the northern sky 200 to 300 km high to create the Aurora Borealis
Directly under the Auroral Oval, shooting between September and April, Yellowknife is the best place in the world to film northern lights
1,400 ice-cored hills, called pingos speckle the coastline near Tuktoyaktuk

And that’s just a few highlights, you can learn more at Spectacular NWT.

Geographical Location

Bordering Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in the South, NWT starts at the 60th parallel and spans north into the High Arctic Islands, found in the Arctic Ocean. Tucked between Nunavut on the East, and Yukon on the West, the NWT is the second largest territory in Canada.

Time Zone

Mountain Standard (MT)

Area

Covering a total area of 1,346,106 km² (519,734 sq mi), our territory is nearly twice the size of Texas.

Capital City

Yellowknife

Currency

The Canadian dollar Unlike most provinces in Canada, we don’t have sales tax – so your dollar goes further.

Population

We are more than 44,000 strong in the NWT, spread across 33 communities in the territory. The NWT has a rich and diverse culture, reflecting the multicultural population of the territory. Roughly half of our population is Indigenous and our official languages are Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North and South Slavey, Tłı̨chǫ, French, and English.

Connection

All communities across NWT have wireless networks and WiFi capacity.

Climate

The NWT has a dry climate with low precipitation - perfect filming conditions. While Vancouver has an annual average of 1.57 metres (62 inches) of precipitation a year, Yellowknife has only 279.4 mm (11 inches) per year.

Weather

Living on the edge of the world, we embrace extremes.

Our long, dark winter skies screen the dancing aurora, giving us season passes to the world’s best show. When the sun arrives, though, we’re ready to go. You can play outside all night long under the summer’s midnight sun. Our temperatures can reach the highest in the country.

The NWT has a dry climate, which means our summer nights are cool, and our winter cold isn't bone-chilling. Temperatures in the NWT fluctuate between highs of 35°C (95°F) in the summer to lows of -45°C (-49°F) in the winter.

Northern Sun

Similar to the South, days become shorter towards December 21st, and then grow longer leading into June 21st. The further north you are, the further the extremes of light and dark.

While the NWT’s winter darkness is the perfect backdrop for vampire thrillers, the summer sun is forgiving. It gives us longer filming days with more time to get the shot.