The Tłı̨chǫ Assembly has included advancing the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor – connecting the NWT to Nunavut’s Arctic coast – among its key priorities for the next four years.
Support for the project is included in a broader priority of economic self-sufficiency for the Tłı̨chǫ people.
The other three priorities announced on Monday are:
- infrastructure, including housing;
- healing and wellness, including addressing alcohol and drugs through on-the-land healing and the development of a treatment centre; and
- capacity building, including more resources for language, education and training, and the creation of a youth council.
The Arctic Economic and Security Corridor would feature an all-season highway connecting the proposed Grays Bay deepwater port, east of Kugluktuk in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region, to the NWT and the southern road network.
At the moment, the only road extending toward the Nunavut border from the NWT is a winter road that starts northeast of Yellowknife and serves the territory’s three active diamond mines for eight to 10 weeks a year.
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NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines president Kenny Ruptash said that while the Nunavut side of the corridor is “largely predetermined in its route selection” – and is led by the West Kitikmeot Resources Corporation – the NWT side’s route is still being determined.
One option is to build the corridor so it also serves as an all-season road to the Tłı̨chǫ communities of Gamètì and Wekweètì, which currently only have short winter road seasons.
“It can go anywhere from Behchokǫ̀ to Yellowknife or anywhere in between,” said Ruptash in an interview last month, referring to the route’s NWT terminus.
“We are ultimately looking at three design factors here. One, you have to be able to construct it – you can’t build over a swamp or over a lake. Two, we want to connect communities as much as possible. And three, proximity to mineral tenure. We want to align it in proximity to as many known deposits as we can.
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“Obviously, if it starts in Behchokǫ̀, we’re working up through Wekweètì, Gamètì. There’s a few communities that have been identified for potential.”
Speaking at the Tłı̨chǫ Assembly last week, Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty said the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation had agreed to jointly advance the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, which made the federal government’s second-tier list of major nation-building projects earlier this year.
Lafferty said working together would help the Indigenous governments “to access federal funding and undertake necessary groundwork before deciding whether to become project proponents.”
The corridor could create new economic opportunities and help offset the impact of anticipated diamond mine closures, Lafferty told the assembly.
Fred Behrens, the senior administrator of Wekweètì, said a public meeting about the corridor’s possible route had been held in August with 15 to 20 people attending.
“It would definitely benefit us by giving us year-round transportation instead of just the possible one month or whatever that we currently have to get our goods and everything in, as well as being able to travel,” Behrens told Cabin Radio.
He acknowledged all-season roads bring challenges related to crime and addictions, as Whatì has experienced in the years since its own year-round highway was built, but said issues like climate change made the prospect of a permanent road attractive.
“Who knows how long we’ll have winter roads? It’s definitely better to get an all-season road,” he said.
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“We understand it’s still in the planning stages, and I’m sure it’s many years away, but at least at this point in time, it’s definitely sounding fairly positive that it may happen at some point.”
Ruptash said multiple options remain on the table and it would be “premature” for him to say any community will be connected, “but that is one of the guiding principles for the route.”
“There is some route optimization going on,” he said. “We’re trying to align the road such that every project could benefit from it.”
The Tłı̨chǫ Government says it is now developing a plan to move forward its four major priorities over the next four years.
That plan will be published in spring 2026, the Tłı̨chǫ Government said in a news release, and presented at the next Tłı̨chǫ Annual Gathering.
