Yukon
Yukon
Ųųg Han (Gwichʼin) Chu Nìikwän (Southern Tutchone) | |
|---|---|
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 63°N 135°W / 63°N 135°W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Before confederation | District of Yukon |
| Confederation | June 13, 1898 (9th) |
| Capital (and largest city) | Whitehorse |
| Largest metro | Whitehorse |
| Government | |
| • Type | Parliamentary system |
| • Commissioner | Adeline Webber |
| • Premier | Mike Pemberton |
| Legislature | Yukon Legislative Assembly |
| Federal representation | Parliament of Canada |
| House seats | 1 of 343 (0.3%) |
| Senate seats | 1 of 105 (1%) |
| Area | |
• Total | 482,443 km2 (186,272 sq mi) |
| • Land | 474,391 km2 (183,163 sq mi) |
| • Water | 8,052 km2 (3,109 sq mi) 1.7% |
| • Rank | 9th |
| 4.8% of Canada | |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 40,232[2] |
• Estimate (Q2 2025) | 47,111[3] |
| • Rank | 12th |
| • Density | 0.08/km2 (0.2/sq mi) |
| Demonyms | Yukoner French: Yukonnais(e)[4] |
| Official languages | |
| GDP | |
| • Rank | 13th |
| • Total (2017) | C$3.089 billion[6] |
| • Per capita | C$75,141 (3rd) |
| HDI | |
| • HDI (2021) | 0.930[7] — Very high (4th) |
| Time zone | UTC−07:00 |
| Canadian postal abbr. | YT |
| Postal code prefix | Y |
| ISO 3166 code | CA-YT |
| Flower | Fireweed |
| Tree | Subalpine fir[8] |
| Bird | Common raven |
| Website | yukon |
| Rankings include all provinces and territories | |
Yukon (Canadian French: [jukõ][4]) is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada's westernmost and smallest territory by land area. As of the 2021 census, Yukon is the middle of the three territories in terms of population, but the most densely populated. As of the 2025 second quarter estimates Yukon had a population of 47,126, which would make it the most populated territory.[3] Whitehorse, the territorial capital, is the largest settlement.[9]
Yukon was split from the Northwest Territories by a federal statute in 1898 as the Yukon Territory. The current governing legislation is the Yukon Act passed by the federal Parliament in 2002.[10] That act established Yukon as the territory's official name, although Yukon Territory remains in popular usage. Canada Post uses the territory's internationally approved postal abbreviation of YT.[11] In 2021, territorial government policy was changed so that The Yukon is recommended for use in official territorial government materials.[12]
Although officially bilingual (English and French), the Yukon government recognizes First Nations languages.
At 5,959 m (19,551 ft), Yukon's Mount Logan, in Kluane National Park and Reserve, is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest on the North American continent (after Denali in the U.S. state of Alaska). Most of the Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long, cold winters and brief, warm summers. The coastal area along the Arctic Ocean has a tundra climate.
Notable rivers include the Yukon, Pelly, Stewart, Peel, White, Liard, and Tatshenshini.
- ^ "Yukon". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2011 censuses". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ a b "Population estimates, quarterly". Statistics Canada. June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
- ^ a b "yukonais, yukonaise". Usito - le dictionnaire (in French). Université de Sherbrooke. August 30, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
yukonais, yukonaise ou yukonnais, yukonnaise [jukɔnɛ, jukɔnɛz] : adjectif et nom : Du Yukon. [Nuance:] Nom (avec une majuscule) : Un Yukonais, une Yukonaise.
[yukonais, yukonaise or yukonnais, yukonnaise : adjective and noun : From (the) Yukon. [Modified form:] Noun (with a capital letter) : A Yukoner.] - ^ "The Legal Context of Canada's Official Languages". University of Ottawa. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- ^ "Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory (2017)". Statistics Canada. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Subnational HDI - Global Data Lab". globaldatalab.org. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Government of Yukon: Emblems and Symbols". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012.
- ^ "Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ "Yukon Act, SC 2002, c 7". CanLII. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
- ^ "Table 8 Abbreviations and codes for provinces and territories, 2011 Census". Statistics Canada. December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Back to 'the' Yukon: The big return of a 3-letter word". CBC. August 10, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.