Nunavut: origins of statutes and regulations

Last revised April 20, 2023

The Nunavut Act was passed by Parliament in 1993 and came into effect on April 1, 1999, officially creating Nunavut as a territory of Canada. It came into being as a result of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement between the government of Canada and the Inuit Indigenous peoples of the Arctic. As a brand-new territory, Nunavut had no existing laws to govern them.  Section 29 of the Nunavut Act allowed for the ordinances of the present Northwest Territories and the laws made under them be duplicated for Nunavut.

Transition period

The time between the passing of the Nunavut Act in 1993 and the official creation of the Territory of Nunavut in 1999 allowed for a transitional period where amendments, enactments and repeals could be made to the Northwest Territories legislation to better apply to Nunavut.  To accommodate these modifications which were required to be in force April 1, 1999, sections 29 and 76.05 of the Nunavut Act were amended to allow the government of the Northwest Territories to pass certain kinds of legislation on behalf of Nunavut. Packages of "Division Legislation" made laws specifically to apply in Nunavut and received Royal Assent on December 9th, 1998 and March 29th, 1999.

After April 1, 1999, only legislative amendments made by the Nunavut Legislative Assembly apply to legislation inherited from the Northwest Territories.  Amendments made to Northwest Territories legislation by the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories apply to Nunavut only when specifically indicated.

Where to find Nunavut legislation

Nunavut legislation is publicly available through the Nunavut Department of Justice, Legislation Division website. The content of this site includes:

• all Acts made in Nunavut, in English, French and Inuktitut
• the Nunavut Gazette, in English and French
• numerous reference tables to assist users in finding relevant material
• consolidations of Nunavut Acts and regulations, in English, French and Inuktitut