Which region began adopting provincial-style governance in the late 19th century, eventually leading to new provinces?

• A. Yukon Territory
• B. Nunavut
• C. Northwest Territories
• D. British Columbia

Answer: (C)

The region that fits this pattern is the Northwest Territories. As settlers and industries expanded in the northwest, the territory began to adopt more provincial‑style governance—moving toward elected representation and greater local control over affairs, rather than being governed directly by Ottawa. This shift built the political groundwork that made it possible to create new provinces from the western part of the territory, leading to Alberta and Saskatchewan achieving provincial status in 1905.

Yukon Territory never followed this path in the late 19th century to become a province, and Nunavut was created much later, in 1999, from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. British Columbia had already joined Canada as a province in 1871, so its government wasn’t part of this late‑19th‑century territorial shift.