Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in

Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories an ...

. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the

Alaska Highway All of Yukon consists of a single federal electoral district and therefore there is only one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) and 65% of Yukon's voters live in Whitehorse. Residents of the Yukon have been voting federally since a byelection returned the first Yukon MP in January 1903 and, from 1984 onward, have had candidates from at least four federal political parties to choose from. In 2006, 2008 and 2011, the choices have been:

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

, Liberal, and NDP. Other parties that have contested the riding from 1984 onward include the Libertarian Party, the Rhinoceros Party, the three precursors of the Conservative Party (Reform Party, Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives), the National Party (1993) and the Christian Heritage Party. Liberal Brendan Hanley is Yukon's MP.

Judicial

All court matters are handled in Whitehorse at the Andrew Philipsen Law Building which also houses a law library. Yukon's Territorial Court (three judges) handles most adult criminal prosecutions under the criminal code and other federal statutes. The Supreme Court of Yukon has three resident judges and nine judges from NWT and

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

. The Court of Appeal, made up of justices from British Columbia, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut, sits in Whitehorse only one week of the year, so most appeals are heard in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Military

The Canadian Armed Forces is represented in Whitehorse by Canadian Forces Detachment Yukon located in downtown Whitehorse, Regional Cadet Support Unit (North) was at Boyle Barracks (until a re-organization in 2012 amalgamated the cadet support unit into Regional Cadet Support Unit (NW) based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba) and the

Canadian Rangers , colors =Red and green , march = , mascot = , battles = Second World WarCold War , anniversaries = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol_2_label = , current_commander = Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier, Commander of th ...

of the Whitehorse Patrol of 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group. 2685 Yukon Regiment Army Cadet Corps and 551 Whitehorse Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets of the

Canadian Cadet Organizations The Canadian Cadet Organizations, marketed under the name of Cadets Canada, are a youth program known as the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Royal Canadian Army Cadets, and Royal Canadian Air Cadets. The program is sponsored by the Canadian Armed Fo ...

also operate in Whitehorse. All units operate as part of Canadian Forces

Joint Task Force (North) Joint Task Force (North) (french: links=no, Force opérationnelle interarmées (Nord)) is responsible for all Canadian Armed Forces operations and administration in northern Canada, namely Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the waters of ...

440 Transport Squadron 440 Transport Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Armed Forces under the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is part of 8 Wing and works closely with Joint Task Force (North) located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Based at Yellowknife Airport ...

, and other units of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, including the

Snowbirds The Snowbirds, officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (french: 431e Escadron de démonstration aérienne, links=no), are the military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team is based at 15 Wing ...

often operate and train out of Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, formerly

RCAF Station Whitehorse {{Location map, Canada, label=RCAF Station Whitehorse , marksize=6, mark=Red_pog.svg , lat_dir=N, lat_deg=60, lat_min=42, lat_sec=34 , lon_dir=W, lon_deg=135, lon_min=04, lon_sec=32 , position=width=300, float=right , caption=Location of RCAF Stati ...

. Boyle Barracks is located south of downtown Whitehorse. The facility houses Regional Cadet Support Unit (North), Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre, service support elements of Joint Task Force (North), and is used by 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, the

Junior Canadian Rangers Junior Canadian Rangers are part of the Canadian Cadet Organizations and are linked to the Canadian Rangers. The program aims to offer young Canadians, aged 12 to 18, in remote and isolated communities across Canada an opportunity to participate in ...

, and other units to conduct training. Boyle Barracks is located on the property of the unused Wolf Creek Juvenile Corrections Centre which is leased by the Department of National Defence from the Yukon Government. Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre offers a variety of courses and activities that focus on general training, leadership, and expedition training up to the instructor level. Courses are two, three, and six weeks long and are offered throughout the summer. Personnel are drawn primarily from the territories, but many come from across Canada. The training centre also hosts members of the United Kingdom's

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...

and

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

Education

Whitehorse has several schools as part of a Yukon Government operated public school system. Except for ''École Émilie-Tremblay'', Yukon does not have school boards. However, each school has a council composed of three to seven elected positions for two-year terms, consisting of (and elected by) citizens residing in the school's assigned area and parents of students attending the school. All teachers are employed directly by the Department of Education, and there are no tuition fees to be paid to attend elementary and secondary institutions with the exception of the Wood Street School, which offers specialized experiential programs for high school students in the sciences and arts. Yukon schools follow British Columbia's school curriculum.

Primary education (K-3)

* Grey Mountain Primary

Elementary education (K-7)

* Christ the King Elementary (Catholic) * Elijah Smith Elementary * Golden Horn Elementary * Hidden Valley Elementary * Holy Family Elementary (Catholic) * Jack Hulland Elementary * Selkirk Elementary (French and English Immersion) * Takhini Elementary * École Whitehorse Elementary (French and late French Immersion)

Secondary education

* Vanier Catholic Secondary School (Catholic) * F.H. Collins Secondary School (English and French Immersion) * Porter Creek Secondary School

French First Language school (K-12)

* École Émilie-Tremblay

Specialized programs

* Wood St. School (programs are attended by students drawn from the high schools) * Individual Learning Centre (for students who have had trouble in the regular school program and are not attending school)

Post-secondary education

Yukon University Yukon University (formerly Yukon College) is a public university in the Canadian territory of Yukon. The university main campus is based in Whitehorse, although the institution also operates 12 campuses throughout the territory. The university ...

, offering mostly college diplomas and some university degrees through ties with various universities ( Northern British Columbia, Alaska Southeast,

UArctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arct ...

, Regina,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

)

Media

Broadcast

Radio

Facade of Whitehorse Star Building - Whitehorse - Yukon Territory - Canada

Whitehorse is also served by CIY270, a

Weatheradio Canada Weatheradio Canada (french: Radiométéo Canada) is a Canadian weather radio network owned and operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada's Meteorological Service of Canada division that is an official partner of the U.S. National Weathe ...

station broadcasting at 162.400 MHz on the weather band.

Television

Local cable provider

NorthwesTel Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Originally est ...

hosts three local television channels: Community Cable 9, an advertisement slide-show channel and a public service channel.

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

operated an affiliate in Whitehorse,

CFWH-TV CFWH-TV was the television call sign for the CBC's television station in Whitehorse, Yukon. Commencing transmissions on November 26, 1968, it was one of ultimately six Frontier Coverage Package stations in the Yukon; satellite delivery of colou ...

, from 1968 to 2012. Initially served using the Frontier Coverage Package until Anik satellite broadcasts became available early in 1973; this transmitter was shut down on July 31, 2012, due to budget cuts. Until 2009, there was a low-powered repeater of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

's CITV-TV providing

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after C ...

programming to the area..

Print

Whitehorse's two major English-language newspapers are the ''

Whitehorse Daily Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. When founded in 1900 it appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a ...

'' (founded as a weekly in 1900, it now publishes five times per week since 1986) and the ''

Yukon News ''Yukon News'' is one of two newspapers published in Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada. It was founded in 1960, as a weekly until the late 1970s. It currently prints two times a week. Its Monday edition is online-only. The ''Yukon News'' has been the r ...

'' (founded as a weekly in 1960 by Ken Shortt, published five days a week from 1967 to 1999, and currently prints twice weekly). Other local newspapers include '' What's Up Yukon'' (a local free music, arts, culture, events, weekly founded in 2005) and a French-language newspaper ''

L'Aurore boréale ''L'Aurore boréale'' is a Canadian bi-weekly newspaper, published in Whitehorse, Yukon. Established in 1983, the newspaper serves the Franco-Yukonnais community. Its title is the French translation of Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auro ...

'' (founded in 1983).

Infrastructure

Emergency services

Whitehorse contracts out its police service to the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

, with the main police station on 4th avenue in the city centre. Whitehorse's ambulance service are run by Yukon Government's Emergency Medical Services and is staffed by full-time Primary Care Paramedics (PCP) and Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP). Whitehorse's Search and Rescue (SAR) is ensured by a partnership between the RCMP, YG's Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) and volunteer SAR teams. RCMP in Whitehorse

Whitehorse has its own fire service, known as City of Whitehorse Fire Department (WHFD) with two fire stations. The first, Station #1, located in the city centre at the corner of Second Avenue and Steele Street, and Station #2 (305 B Range Road) atop "Two Mile Hill" on the west side, with room for three trucks. It was built in 2010 to become a public safety building. The original fire hall located along on the waterfront has been preserved as a historic building and cultural centre. The Fire Department currently operates with thirty-three full-time staff and approximately ten volunteers. Both fire stations are staffed 24/7 through a rotation of four platoons of six firefighters and one dispatcher. WHFD is equipped and trained to respond to Motor vehicle Accidents, high and low angle rescue, confined space, and static water ice rescue. Haz-mat, swift water and urban search and rescue are not under the departments current capabilities or can only be responded to at awareness levels. All medical emergencies are responded to by Yukon Government Emergency Medical Services. All aircraft emergencies are dealt with by the Eric Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport(ENWIA) ARFF fire department with mutual aid agreement activities from WHFD. Whitehorse Fire Department is professionally represented by the IAFF and the BCPFFA. Whitehorse Fire Department is the largest municipal fire department in the territory and the only professional one. Though they are 13% of the total population of firefighters in the territory, WHFD protects 82% of the population, and responds to 84% of fire calls within the Yukon. WHFD falls under the authority of the Yukon Fire Marshals Office (FMO) and reports directly to it. Fire and life safety inspection throughout the City of Whitehorse are conducted by the Whitehorse Fire Department duty crews as well as designated Fire Prevention Officers under the direction of Municipal Bylaw 2000–01 "Emergency Services Bylaw" with authority from the current edition of the National Fire Code of Canada. Wildland fire crews also operate in the summer to combat the forest fires across the territory. They will lend assistance to crews in B.C., Alberta, and the other territories as needed.

Energy grid

Yukon Energy operates four conventional hydroelectric generating stations: Whitehorse Dam (40 MW), Aishihik Lake (37 MW), Mayo A (5 MW), and Mayo B (10 MW), which provide the bulk of generation for the Yukon Energy grid. An additional 39 MW of diesel generation is maintained for supplemental back-up. Additionally, Yukon Energy operates two wind turbines near Whitehorse, which are connected to the Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro grid. The first turbine is a Bonus Energy 150 kW MARK III installed in 1993 that is no longer functional. The second turbine, a

Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Un ...

660 kW V47 LT II was later installed in 2000 and operates only in the summer. These units need to be specially adapted to deal with icing and the northern environment.

Health care

2017 RPAP visit to Whitehorse, YT (32661165213)

The first " White Horse General Hospital" (WGH) was built in the downtown area in 1902 with a 10-bed capacity. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

beds increased to 30, 10 beds were added in 1943, then 20 beds in 1949, and an operating wing was added in 1951. In 1959 the hospital was rebuilt on the other bank of the Yukon River, across from its previous location, but decision making was still based in Ottawa (National Health and Welfare, Medical Services Branch). The downtown area has several private medical, dental, and optometry clinics. In 1990, the Yukon Hospital Corporation (YHC) was created in order to prepare the transfer of powers regarding the hospital from the Federal Government to the Yukon Territorial Government. In April 1993 management of WGH was officially transferred to the YHC following a collaboration with the Yukon government and Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN, then CYI). Construction of the present building lasted from 1994 through 1997. Today Whitehorse General hospital counts 49 in-patient beds, 10 day-surgery beds, an ER department, OR suites and several medical imaging technologies.

Transportation

Air

Whitehorse is served by the

Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is an airport of entry located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is part of the National Airports System, and is owned and operated by the Government of Yukon. The airport was renamed in honour of lo ...

and has, as of 2022, scheduled service to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ' ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

, Old Crow,and

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service ce ...

. Seasonal scheduled service is provided to

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

(nonstop),

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

(via Yellowknife),

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

(via Yellowknife), as well as

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, Germany (nonstop). The airport was developed as part of the Northwest Staging Route in 1941–42 and has two long paved runways. A wartime-era hangar served as terminal building from about 1960, and was replaced in December 1985 with a modern terminal.

Air North Air North Charter and Training Ltd., operating as , is a Canadian airline based in Whitehorse, Yukon. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo flights throughout Yukon, as well as between Yukon and the Northwest Territories, British Columbia ...

, a scheduled passenger and cargo airline operating

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

jetliners and Hawker Siddeley 748 turboprops, is based in Whitehorse. Alkan Air provides charter and medical services and also operates a flying school. In 1998 work was completed on a runway extension and other improvements (concrete turn button, installation of storm and sanitary mains, lighting upgrades, tower access road and blast pad). Expansion of the terminal itself was completed in 2010. Alaska Highway Bridge

Roads

Surface access to Whitehorse is provided by a network of highways, including the international

Alaska Highway