The Yukon — 119 and counting: Senator Lang
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Note to readers: Senator Daniel Lang retired from the Senate of Canada in August, 2017. Learn more about his work in Parliament.
Although a relative latecomer to Confederation, Yukon is actually the oldest continually inhabited part of North America — it’s a place where our first peoples have thrived for at least 10,000 years.
With the arrival of Europeans in the 1840s, the Hudson’s Bay Company extended its search for fur right up to the Arctic, administering a vast space that was known as Rupert’s Land. And in 1870, the young Dominion of Canada swept across the continent by purchasing the vast space and renaming it the North-West Territories.
And then we struck gold.
It was on Rabbit Creek (soon to be renamed Bonanza Creek), a tributary of the Klondike River, that gold was first found in 1896.
By summer of 1897, tens of thousands of would-be prospectors — for the most part Americans — were rushing up the Pacific coast and through the perilous Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon, all in search of their fortune. From this gold rush sprouted Dawson City.
Meanwhile in Ottawa, not only did the federal government realize the need for local government in the Yukon, but with the United States’ control over Alaska (purchased from Russia in 1867) and expanding population, Canada’s leaders feared American influence in Yukon.
In order to counteract the threat, on June 13, 1898, 119 years ago to this day, the Parliament of Canada passed the Yukon Territory Act and created Yukon as a separate territory, naming as its capital, Dawson City.
Since then, we’ve been proud Canadians, often punching above our weight. When the First World War broke out, a staggering proportion of Yukoners volunteered to fight for King and Country, including at Vimy Ridge. The same occurred during the Second World War when Yukoners also participated valiantly.
Since that time, and in partnership with the federal government, Yukon has evolved into an exciting, modern and well governed territory, which attracts tourists and new residents from around the world. In 1975 Yukon was given representation in the Senate of Canada.
Moreover, we in Yukon are blessed to have established an Umbrella Final Agreement with our First Nations communities — 11 of our 14 First Nations communities have achieved self-governance. We have increased the literacy rate, level of education and quality of governance, while at the same time promoting the development of our mining industry and good stewardship of the environment.
Today, 119 years after joining confederation, Yukoners remain strong, proud, and ruggedly-individualistic. Yukon really is heaven on Earth.
Senator Daniel Lang is a senator representing the Yukon. He is chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, as well as a member of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.
Note to readers: Senator Daniel Lang retired from the Senate of Canada in August, 2017. Learn more about his work in Parliament.
Although a relative latecomer to Confederation, Yukon is actually the oldest continually inhabited part of North America — it’s a place where our first peoples have thrived for at least 10,000 years.
With the arrival of Europeans in the 1840s, the Hudson’s Bay Company extended its search for fur right up to the Arctic, administering a vast space that was known as Rupert’s Land. And in 1870, the young Dominion of Canada swept across the continent by purchasing the vast space and renaming it the North-West Territories.
And then we struck gold.
It was on Rabbit Creek (soon to be renamed Bonanza Creek), a tributary of the Klondike River, that gold was first found in 1896.
By summer of 1897, tens of thousands of would-be prospectors — for the most part Americans — were rushing up the Pacific coast and through the perilous Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon, all in search of their fortune. From this gold rush sprouted Dawson City.
Meanwhile in Ottawa, not only did the federal government realize the need for local government in the Yukon, but with the United States’ control over Alaska (purchased from Russia in 1867) and expanding population, Canada’s leaders feared American influence in Yukon.
In order to counteract the threat, on June 13, 1898, 119 years ago to this day, the Parliament of Canada passed the Yukon Territory Act and created Yukon as a separate territory, naming as its capital, Dawson City.
Since then, we’ve been proud Canadians, often punching above our weight. When the First World War broke out, a staggering proportion of Yukoners volunteered to fight for King and Country, including at Vimy Ridge. The same occurred during the Second World War when Yukoners also participated valiantly.
Since that time, and in partnership with the federal government, Yukon has evolved into an exciting, modern and well governed territory, which attracts tourists and new residents from around the world. In 1975 Yukon was given representation in the Senate of Canada.
Moreover, we in Yukon are blessed to have established an Umbrella Final Agreement with our First Nations communities — 11 of our 14 First Nations communities have achieved self-governance. We have increased the literacy rate, level of education and quality of governance, while at the same time promoting the development of our mining industry and good stewardship of the environment.
Today, 119 years after joining confederation, Yukoners remain strong, proud, and ruggedly-individualistic. Yukon really is heaven on Earth.
Senator Daniel Lang is a senator representing the Yukon. He is chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, as well as a member of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.