Preface

The term Canada’s Northwest Region was first applied
to designate the prairie section of what now comprises
the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
Later the territory covered by this term was extended to
include the Peace River District of Alberta. In this
publication that term is applied to the northern parts of
Alberta and British Columbia, to the Mackenzie District
of the Northwest Territories, and to Yukon Territory and
it is to this New Northwest that attention is directed in
the following pages.

This territory was administered until 1879 by the
Hudson's Bay Company, and until that time and for many

“years later was valued mainly for its production of fur,
although discoveries of early explorers had given some
glimpse of other physical resources of the land. However,
except for the discovery and development of mineral
resources—gold in the Yukon in 1897, oil at Norman in
1921, and gold at Yellowknife and radium at Great Bear
Lake within the last decade—this New Northwest has
lain dormant, contributing to the economy of Canada
mainly through the fur trade.

In the far northwestern corner of the continent lies
Alaska, a territory of the United States, whose “pan-handle”,
for nearly 600 miles, separates northern British Columbia
from the Pacific Ocean. The fact that this area belongs
to the United States had a significance in the war just closed
which could not well be foreseen, and promises to be an
important factor in northwestern development now that
peace has been restored. Now the northwest is receiving
renewed attention, and Canadians are beginning to realize
that here is a part of their national heritage which may
have vast potentialities, and which may offer to those
possessed of the pioneer spirit an outlet for their energies.

It was in December, 1941, that the treacherous Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbour suddenly turned the searchlight
upon northwestern America. This attack was followed
by the occupation of Kiska and Attu by Japan, and both
Canada and the United States suddenly realized the extent of
the threat to their sovereignty in the North Pacific region by
the Japanese. It was obvious at once that the airway which
Canada had constructed from Edmonton, Alberta, to
Whitehorse and Dawson in Yukon Territory would have
to be further developed and secured and, at the same time,
serviced by an adequate ground transportation route.
An agreement was consequently made between Canada
and the United States for the building by the United States
Corps of Engineers of a military road extending from the
end of the railway at Dawson Creek, B.C., to Fairbanks,
Alaska, now known as the Alaska Military Highway,
and generally referred to as the Alaska Highway. At
the same time other undertakings were rapidly constructed
such as the Canol Project, which included oil development
in the Lower Mackenzie; a pipeline west to Whitehorse;

landing fields between Edmonton and Norman Wells, and
a number of winter roads.

It became apparent that these war-time developments
in northwest Canada and Alaska had a significance reaching
beyond immediate defence interests and it was thought
that the two countries might well undertake studies of
problems of mutual interest in the economic development
of this section of the North American Continent, specifically
the part which embraces Alaska, Yukon Territory, and
northern British Columbia.

The suggestion that such studies be undertaken on a
joint basis by the two countries was passed to the Joint
Economic Committees organized by Canada and the United
States. The Committees reviewed the background of
past co-operation of the two countries in the North Pacific
area, with particular attention to the impressive record
of joint management of the halibut and salmon fisheries,
of conservation of the fur seal, and of control of trans-
boundary streams, and in current military projects. It
was felt that the success of these joint undertakings gave
substantial assurance that the two nations could go further
in developing satisfactory solutions to problems in which
they have joint or parallel interests in this section of the
continent. In January, 1943, they decided to sponsor a
joint study designated as the North Pacific Planning
Project.

This initial study was put in hand by collaborating
study groups organized in the United States and Canada,
each group headed by a project director. The first objective
was to carry out a careful inventory of the natural resources
of the region and to assess their potentialities in the future
development of the northwest coastal section of North
America.

The territory which came under this study had an
area of 1,360,000 square miles, more than half of which
lay int Canada. Its boundaries were not clearly - defined
except on the north and west, where lie the Arctic and
Pacific Oceans. The southern boundary of the area was
arbitrarily fixed about latitude 53° N. The eastern
boundary followed the broad valleys of the Athabaska,
Slave, and Mackenzie Rivers.

Dr. Charles Cameell, C.M.G., was appointed Canadian
Director of the Project and R. K. Odell, O.B.E., Assistant
Director, and the Canadian group included members of
the interested Federal Government departments working
in co-operation with the Provincial Governments of Alberta
and British Columbia.

To augment the limited available information per-
aining to the region, the Department of Mines and
Resources organized field surveys to study the
and mineral resources, forests, wildlife,
resources, and water-power possibilitie
the mapping of the region.

t

geology
and recreational
s, and to accelerate
The Department of Agri-

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