The Northwest Territories passes its first official languages legislation

Decades

1860 – 1869
1870 – 1879
1880 – 1889
1890 – 1899
1900 – 1909
1910 – 1919
1920 – 1929
1930 – 1939
1940 – 1949
1950 – 1959
1960 – 1969
1970 – 1979
1980 – 1989
1990 – 1999
2000 – 2009
2010 – 2019
2020 – 2023

1984

The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories adopts the Official Languages Ordinance, giving English and French equal status in government services.

The Ordinance guaranteed the public’s right to access territorial government programs and services in either English or French. The statutes, archives, reports and minutes of the Legislative Assembly were required to be drafted in English and French.

The Ordinance became the Official Languages Act in 1985, and amendments in 1990 gave equal status to nine indigenous languages, as well.