Northwest Territories, administrative region of Canada, encompassing all the country, N. of lat. 60 degrees N., except Yukon Territory and the northernmost parts of Quebec Province and Newfoundland.  It is bounded on the N. by the Arctic Ocean, on the NE by Baffin Bay; on the East by Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Hudson Bay; on the South by the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, and on the West by the Yukon Territory. The region comprises an extensive mainland, a complex of thousands of islands extending from the mainland N. to within about 500 miles of the North Pole, and the islands of Hudson, James and Ungava Bays.

The Northwest Territories was acquired by Canada in 1870, and its present boundaries were drawn in 1912. A vast, sparsely settled region, the Northwest Territories was formerly important mainly as a fur trapping region. Since the 1950's it has become well known for its mineral production.